


Primordial Fervor

by TheDesertJedi



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dark, Angst, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Badass Rey, Dark Side Rey, Dominant Kylo Ren, Eventual Smut, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Force Bond (Star Wars), Inappropriate Use of the Force, Love, Obsession, Passion, Post-Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Revenge, Seduction, Seduction to the Dark Side, Slow Burn, Smut, Soul Bond, Submissive Kylo Ren, The Dark Side of the Force, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-26
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2018-08-17 13:02:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 53,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8144980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDesertJedi/pseuds/TheDesertJedi
Summary: Story that follows a timeline immediately after the events of TFA  When the last Jedi comes face to face with Rey after she finds him on Ahch-To, he decides to again wipe her memory, just as he'd done when she was but a youngling that had been enrolled in his academy years and years ago.  Everything she experienced during the events of 'The Force Awakens,' is stolen from her out of Luke Skywalker's fear that she will turn to the Dark Side, but he has no idea that the First Order, Snoke, and Kylo Ren have other designs for her. A perilous journey lies before Rey, and through her newfound Force-Bond with Kylo Ren himself, he will stop at nothing to bring her back to him and reawaken the darkness within her.





	1. The Altered Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Hello to all of my readers! I am so excited to start this adventure with you all, and I hope that I can do the trope some justice, as Dark!Reylo is a very mysterious, yet very intriguing project to work on! 
> 
> This will be the first fanfic that I post to AO3, but I am looking forward to going along on this voyage with you all, should you decide to come along on it with me ! :D
> 
> Are you ready? 
> 
> Here we go!!!!!

Rey shifted with unease on the small cot in her makeshift hut within the nest of the aged, dark green hills of Ahch-To. The winds that blew through the thatched roof and thin walls around her chilled her body as rain battered down from the angry black clouds that hung in the sky, and it all did little to cease the incessant thoughts that flitted through her mind and would not allow her to sleep. After awhile, the howling thunder and excessive creaks of age from the legs of the cot became an annoyance as she tossed and turned with a restlessness that would not abate. 

 

It had been three day cycles since the death of Han Solo and the successful destruction of the feared Starkiller Base, but It had also been three day cycles since Rey had seen the one who called himself Kylo Ren. Despite the events that had happened and all that she had seen, Rey dreamt of him- of Ren.

 

That was why, as the waves of the ocean below her crashed against each other and attacked the rocks, she lay awake and unsure of the world around her. She had seen the mythical Luke Skywalker for the first time only a few hours prior, but when she’d held the warm, legendary lightsaber out in front of him, he’d looked at her with an almost disbelieving, and maybe even fearful glare in his eyes. She’d asked him if he would train her and if he would return to his sister’s side in hopes of aiding the Resistance, but none of it seemed to matter to him. He’d simply turned from where he stood in the grassy field to the ocean to leave her in silence as she waited for him to deliver his thoughts.

 

She’d clipped the lightsaber to her belt after awhile without any dissuasion from him as she stood in her place behind him, her feet feeling as if they were rooted to the ground in her torturously long wait for his decision,

 

He never ended up answering her. Instead, he turned back around and breezed past her with a chaste order that seemed rushed.

 

”Go to one of the huts that lies out on the outcropping. I will have made my decision by morning.”

 

She didn’t bother arguing with him, as to argue would be cause for less consideration, or so she thought- her minimal successes bent on negotiating for better payment on her finds with the junk bosses on Jakku had taught her that. And so, she now found herself a temporary inhabitant of Luke’s sanctuary. Even still, Rey couldn’t quite shake off that something wasn’t right about him and about the situation she was in.

 

He’d looked at her with none of the kindness that had shown through Leia’s or Finn’s eyes, and he seemed…. Weary of her, as if he thought she might do something to cause him pain or discomfort. While one part of her felt like she should be here, another part of her screamed to get away from him and to never return.

 

She let her thoughts fall back to all the unfamiliar emotions she'd felt after her time with the masked monster on Starkiller Base, her body beginning to shake from the sudden boom of thunder. Ever since the night she’d dueled him, she would have nightly flashbacks and dreams of him, his alabaster, yet somehow non-threatening face bathed in the blood red light that his lightsaber would cast upon him while he ran after her during a storm that was much like the one happening outside, her name tumbling from his lips in a pleading tone that made her want to stop running.

 

Even the dreams of him could not stifle all the thoughts of being afraid to leave Jakku, the only place she could call a home. He didn’t scare her, but she wondered why it was that of everything she could dream about, she dreamt of him.

 

It was only when a feeling of calm washed over her that she allowed her eyes to lower in the knowledge that she would soon dream of the same man that had frequented them for the past three day cycles, but unbeknownst to her, Luke had sent that soothing feeling to her to begin the first stage of his plan.

 

The screaming winds continued to sound, and then the rain abruptly stopped its assault on Ahch-To. The sky was chaos, but Ahch-To had endured its rage, for now. It was after the rain stopped its descent that the Luke Skywalker moved through the night with a plan that had unfurled within his head during the storm. He had not slept, as the presence of one of the last apprentices he’d taken on to be part of the new generation of Jedi Knights before the horrible Jedi Massacre was within his reach, now.

 

She was the reason that Ben Solo, his estranged nephew, had died and Kylo Ren had been born, and being that she was grown, now, she was at the height of her power through which she would be able wield the Force. She was too great of a threat to train, as he feared for the lives of those within the Resistance as well as himself, should she choose the path of the one who’d destroyed everything that Luke stood for, and perhaps even the fate of the galaxy. Kylo had done it all for her, and if Luke trained her, her Force-Signature would be like a beacon, and Kylo would be like a moth to her flame.

 

Luke would not take that chance. He would go back and see his sister, yes, but he would not allow her to endanger herself or the galaxy on the chance that she chose to embrace the Dark Side.

 

And so, as he pulled aside the greyed cloth that she’d hung over the arched doorway of the hut, he decided to do what he’d done when she’d been but a child. He would again erase her memories, but only those she’d come to have during and after meeting the droid, that BB-unit that’d been holding the last piece of the map. The same piece that he had bestowed upon Lor San Tekka with the sole purpose of hiding his whereabouts.

 

He watched her like a hawk, his glare unmoving from her strained face as she trembled. Thunder rolled around them, and the rain threatened to fall again with small drops that began to come down from the angered sky. It was as if the Force was condemning him for this, but he would go through with his plan. Or, perhaps the Force was only telling him that her darkness would not surface if he erased her memory, and he was quelling it’s anger.

 

She looked harmless enough in her sleep, but when her hand shot down to clutch at the metal staff that rested on the floor before her, he knew she was a threat, even if that was when was asleep. He didn’t let himself reconsider, as his choice had been made, and he doubted that he would regret it. He reminded himself again that he was doing this for her own good and that of the Galaxy, and that this was the only way to keep each safe.

 

Lightning flashed as he raised his left hand over her head, just inches from where she shook in her fitful slumber, and then he allowed himself to let go of all the feelings of apprehension and uneasiness, and, like a waterfall, let serenity replace it as it fell over him. “I’m sorry, Rey. I’m so sorry,” he murmured.

 

The rain began to fall again, but this time, it was much more forceful, the drops pounding against the hut. Rey winced, her brows knitting together as Luke pushed past the barriers of her mind. Though an easy task, it became more difficult as he navigated through, as he was met with some resistance.She defensively put up haphazard barriers that were too weak to keep him from going to the memories that he needed.

 

Once he found the memories, he pulled them from her subconscious, burning them away with his own Force power as they were cast into bits until nothing was left. He took his time with each, making sure to tear them apart as meticulously as he could to ensure their total decimation. When he looked through her memories to assure himself that she would have no recollection of anything leading up to and after her encounters with the droid, the Resistance, and Kylo Ren, he allowed himself to leave her mind. Thunder yelled at him through the sky, and Luke watched as Rey’s expression relaxed, her fingers slowly uncurling from the metal staff below her.

He felt horrible for taking away memories that he knew she would’ve wanted to keep, but he kept telling himself that it was for the good of the Galaxy, and that it had to have been done. He lowered his hand back to his side and turned without another thought, disappearing into the night to begin the next phase in his plan while the rain hurtled down upon him.

 

 

************************************************************************************************************************************************

 

Not even sleep could find him during the late hours of the night cycles aboard the Finalizer as he punched the steel wall in front of him repeatedly, only pulling his throbbing fists away when he’d split all of the knuckles and his dark, crimson fluid dripped from his pale hands.

 

His anger this time was centered on the sole fact that the Supreme Leader would not allow him to go out on the field and lead his Knights in combat. He not only would have been able to take his anger out on the targets they’d been assigned to slay, but he also would’ve been able to gain more insight into where _the girl_ had vanished to. She had, yet again, condemned him to solitude as she’d done all of those years ago.

 

If he could not lead his Knights and utilize the power he was confident that he had to find _her_ , he would take his anger out on the durasteel of the training room.

 

He’d only just been released from the Medbay, and his body ached even after having been confined to it for the entirety of the time after his battle with _her_ on Starkiller Base.

 

It had taken Hux almost half of a day cycle to get him to the Finalizer, and when there, Ren was glad to have been wearing his mask, as every step he took made him wince. He’d not gotten any help on the way there, despite how difficult it was for him, having been struck with his grandfather’s own lightsaber on the face, shoulder, arm, and knee.

 

His leg had been the most painful injury, despite the fact that he couldn’t move his right shoulder or arm. The injures made him weak, and Snoke did not tolerate weakness, but the crushing defeat at Starkiller Base had been one with which the whole of the First Order was at fault, so Ren was confident he wouldn’t be punished, at least not as badly as he’d been when he was smaller and more ignorant.

 

Snoke needed Force-Users. Kylo knew he was the only one, and that made him significant.

 

As if knowledge of some kind of punishment by the Supreme Leader wasn’t enough, he could not ignore the humiliation he felt at the stares of the loathsome Stormtroopers and others that were far beneath him as he limped to the Medbay on his return to the Finalizer. Even as his consciousness had been waning, he made a mental note to make certain that whoever was allowing all of them to wander aimlessly would find an unfortunate end at his hand.

 

 

Hux, _the damned fool_ , had told him to go straight to the Medbay under the Supreme Leader’s orders, but he’d had the gall to inform Ren that he was not authorized to use a bacta tank. Instead, the Supreme Leader had given orders to have Ren’s major injuries treated with controlled applications of bacta by the doctor in charge until he was well enough to leave. It was clear to Ren what the Supreme Leader meant by the notion. If he was not strong enough to live and be of use with the ailments he’d sustained, he would either die by the Supreme Leader’s hand or by that of infection.

 

 

His scars had all closed up, now, and he could finally use his right arm again. Unlike the rest of his injuries, a very minimal amount of bacta had been applied to the scar that now ran across his face, it’s raised, red edges no longer burning through his skin.

 

Ren liked the scars. His grandfather had had scars, and such things showed a brutality and aura of power when one had a life well-lived in the thrall of combat.

 

He also liked the scar on his face because it reminded him of _her_ , and how much of an effect that that she’d had on him. He didn’t have to the see the scar to be reminded of how powerful and fiery she was. All he had to do was raise his hand to his face. Perhaps he should have been enraged that she’d been victorious in their fight during the night, but he couldn’t… Not after he’d recognized who she was. Not after she’d looked so mesmerizing as the darkness had swelled within and around her, the tendrils of it so alluring that even she had basked in it.

 

Were it anyone else that he would’ve had to battle with in the forest on Starkiller Base, he would’ve killed them without a second thought. He would not have hesitated or become reluctant. He would’ve allowed the pain and anger to empower him and release his wraith on whoever dared oppose him, but she wasn’t just anyone to him.

 

The girl that he’d dueled in the forest had been the same person that he’d ended Luke’s tainted and horrid academy for, and he would be damned if he didn’t bring her back to his side.

 

 

As he stood in the training room that was only a few doors down from his own quarters, he turned to peer out through the transparisteel and into the black abyss of space that loomed before him, and wondered how his life would’ve been different if she’d only just accepted him and allowed him to be her teacher.

 

Suddenly, he felt something tug at his conscience. Curious, he followed the invisible thread until he felt _her_. Something was happening and he could feel it.

 

All at once, he felt as if fractions of his past were being tossed around and jumbled in his head, and he fought with an intensity to keep his mind clear and untouched from whatever was happening to her…. To Rey.

 

A Force-Signature that he hadn’t detected for years abruptly pulsed through the invisible thread, but just as soon as it appeared, it disappeared. It had only been seconds, but Kylo knew who it was and had a worried thought that Rey had somehow been hurt by Luke Skywalker, his uncle.

 

Rage swelled within him then, and he thought about all the ways he would make his uncle suffer when he finally encountered Luke. He had a sense that Luke was involved in what had just happened, and he would make Luke feel a pain so terrible that he would beg for his death if Kylo’s instincts were ringing true and he had manipulated her again, but before he could act, the HoloMessenger in the corner of the room went off, it’s chime a special arrangement of sounds that was used only by the Supreme Leader when Ren was being summoned.

 

He briefly considered telling the Supreme Leader about the… whatever it was that had just happened, but he had a strong inclination to keep it from Snoke, and Kylo Ren was never one to go against his instincts, and right now, they were telling him that it was not the time to disclose what had occured with him and Rey. And so, Kylo lowered his gnarled mask over his head, and then stalked away from the training room, but not before he casted one last glance out of the transparisteel, his eyes searching for something he couldn’t have. At least not yet.

 

His deep voice came from the voice modulator, the tone of it longing and sad.

 

“I’m coming back for you, Reya. I promised you that I would.”


	2. The Order and the Dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, my darling readers! Welcome back to my fic ! Let me just say that I am truly humbled by the wonderful comments and kudos that I've been receiving from you all, as your thoughts and support are just so amazing to a writer that is, for the first time, posting their work online for others to read :D
> 
> This chapter is longer to make up for the fact that I took so long to update this fanfic, as I realize it's been a little while since I last uploaded! 
> 
> I feel that I should tell you the tentative schedule for updates on this work, so I think that you guys can expect to have another chapter up and ready to read every Monday from now on until I decide that it is time for this fic to end, but worry not, my darlings, for I do not plan to end it any time soon!
> 
> Now, are you ready to read?  
> Let's go!!!

 

* * *

 

 

“Something troubles you, Kylo Ren….. I can sense the….conflict within you."

 

The gnarled, ghostly hand of the Supreme Leader lifted to point to the Master of the Knights of Ren, his voice carrying and echoing off of the dark space around them. Kylo continued to remain on one knee with his head lowered before the leader of the First Order, his newly healed injuries aching in the position.

 

Ren waited for the Supreme Leader to speak again, thoughts still racing of Rey, though he was careful to maintain the mental barriers around the occurrence of what had happened with her only a few minutes prior. He wasn’t a fool. Snoke would search his mind and be able to see everything that Kylo felt and thought, and he would expose what Kylo wasn’t ready to admit even to himself.

 

Snoke knew about his feelings towards Rey and what connected them together, as he’d known Ren for years, and though she was his catalyst in turning to the Dark Side, it was Snoke who had brought Kylo’s power to life, and in so doing giving him the position as master of the Knights of Ren. There was nothing that the Supreme Leader didn’t know about him, as the being had exploited Ren as a boy, the humanoid alien somehow revealing all of Kylo’s fears and desires to the point where he couldn’t run anymore.

 

The hologram of the Supreme Leader flashed as he stood, his outstretched hand falling to rest at his side.

 

“Stand, Kylo Ren. I have become weary of seeing you bow before me,” his voice rasped.

 

Ren stood without thought, the motion ingrained within him as he’d done it many times before. Whatever the Supreme Leader had called him here for, he suspected that it would have something to do with his punishment for his failure on Starkiller Base, and so he waited, his body shifting on his feet to ease the pain that had shot through the leg that _she’d_ struck during their duel in the forest.

 

Ren was glad to have had his mask, as the Supreme Leader would’ve seen him wince in the pain that had so quickly pierced him. A memory of her played through his mind at the moment when Ren had had her up before the edge of a cliff in the forest, his face only inches from her own as their lightsabers had been locked together.

 

All it had taken was the damned memory, as the Supreme Leader slowly narrowed his eyes with a cruel grin peeking at the edges of his slashed face as he looked down upon the masked man that stood before him. Snoke lowered himself back onto the throne that had sat behind  him through the Hologram, but not before Ren lowered his head toward the Supreme Leader.

 

“She entices you, Kylo Ren…. You yearn for her to be by your side, once more…..Even now, you desire what you cannot have….”

 

Kylo balled his hand in a fist, the truth of the statement undeniable as he felt Snoke rip into his mind and sift through all of the thoughts and feelings that he’d had since the day he’d learned of a girl, a girl that had interfered with the escape of a certain BB unit and a traitorous Stormtrooper on Jakku.

 

Hot pain sliced through his head as Snoke moved through different areas, the burning invasion of the Supreme Leader causing tremors to rack Ren’s body. Just as soon as the pain had started, it stopped as Snoke pulled away from his apprentice’s mind. A wide, malicious grin crossed the figure’s face as Ren steadied himself from the intrusion, and then the cold, raspy voice sounded through the chamber as an amused cackle came from him.

 

“You are but a man, my apprentice. It is not a horrid thing to want for a companion. When you truly embrace the Darkness and become a Sith, your desire for her will be bolstered..... it is only in your nature,” he mused.

 

Ren let out a deep breath that he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. It was clear to him that the creature before him would not harm his Reya. Else, he’d already have given the order to Kylo to kill her. Still, he prepared himself for a lecture that would not come.

 

 “I do find it...disappointing....to see that you have withheld some valuable information from me…”

 

Ren lifted his head to meet the Supreme Leader’s unfeeling and cold eyes, his conflict swelling within him.

 

“I am a man, Supreme Leader, but what am I to do?”

 

Snoke’s gnarled arm slithered down the side of the throne, his long, skeletal fingers tapping on it, “It looks like I will have a use for you, yet, boy. Take off your mask. I want to look on your face when I disclose what it is that I brought you here for.”

 

It was not without effort that he kept himself from grimacing, as the movement caused the wound on his side to throb, but Ren managed to remove the mask with a pneumatic hiss before he tucked it under his arm and met the black, beady eyes of the Supreme Leader.

 

“What it is that I was brought here for? Am I to be punished?”

 

Snoke leaned forward, his head craning to watch his apprentice.

 

“No, dear boy. You’ll not be punished. I have a matter that I would like to discuss with you.”

 

Raising his brows, Ren listened with interest.

 

“It seems…..that Skywalker has bestowed….the gift of amnesia to….the girl you hold such compassion for.”

 

The figure had no sooner finished before the walls around them began to rumble, cracks opening up from middle of the ceiling and crawling along, making smaller fissures in their wake as they snaked outwards.

 

“No, that can’t be- He can’t have done that to her…”

 

Ren shook his head, the pieces of what had happened in the training room falling together as he realized what must have happened. He’d felt her. Kylo had felt her memories being pulled away and torn to shreds by his corrupt and vile uncle, and he had not been able to do anything to stop it.

 

Reya… His Reya had again had her mind trifled with and changed on account of someone else’s will. Ren knew that she was strong and that she would be able to handle herself even with her memory taken, but he would be damned if he didn’t destroy his uncle for eradicating her memories a second time.

 

Stone began to fall around them, and it was then that Snoke spoke again, not bothering to move from his seated position. Ren suddenly heard  the Supreme Leader's Force power thrum around him, and he effectively froze Ren in his place by an invisible power until the rumbling of the walls ceased and the stones stopped their descent to the floor.

 

“I was not finished, apprentice. She may have a small fraction of memories that have been taken, but you have failed to see where this leaves an opportunity for the First Order. She knows….. nothing now of what we are, and with proper steps in place….. I believe that she can be made…..to serve the Order as you do, Kylo Ren.”

 

Kylo’s mind reeled through everything he’d learned, but it was all so much. A question formed in his mind, and it soon left his lips.

 

“If I may ask, Supreme Leader, how much has she forgotton?”

 

 “She has forgotten…. everything that has happened since coming into contact….with the droid that was carrying the map to Skywalker.” Snoke paused to allow his apprentice to take in what he was saying. After the many emotions that played out across Ren’s face, he continued.

 

“I have begun to make preparations….. for her new addition to our ranks, Kylo Ren…. I suggest you do as well. I want you to find her….and then I want you to bring her to where she truly belongs.”

 

A newfound sense of purpose and excitement trilled through him, and he suppressed the overwhelming urge to break free of the hold that Snoke had on him.

 

Another question formed in Ren’s head, but he was hesitant with this one.

 

“How am I to find her?”

 

Snoke considered the masked man before him for a moment, and then he answered with a hint of smugness in his tone,” Use your newfound Force-Bond, boy. Don’t be naïve and try to hide your little secrets from me again, else I’ll give this mission to General Hux and leave you to keep taking your rage out on the walls of our training rooms.”

 

Ren’s expression morphed from surprise to confusion to annoyance, and it was then that Supreme Leader allowed his Force-Hold to falter until Kylo Ren moved to put his mask on his head once more.

 

As he lifted the heavy piece above his head, he felt a twinge of annoyance swirl within him at the thought of General Hux being near _her,_ and he thought of all the ways he would disembowel the man if he so much as laid a finger on her. Reya was _his_ , and _his_ alone.

 

With a grated voice, the Supreme Leader eased back into his throne, a wicked and vicious plan unfurling in his mind, “Kill anyone that gets in your way. Do not fail me a second time, Kylo Ren.”

 

After the mask was in place, Ren bowed, his acknowledgment falling from his lips with the deepest sincerity.

 

“Yes, Supreme Leader.”

 

* * *

 

 

 The rain continued to fall over Ahch-To, the water biting into Luke’s skin even through the layers of clothes that he wore. The winds had picked up again, but he was undeterred as he trudged through the grass fields and up the stony outcropping in his objective to reach Rey. He’d gone down to the rough stones of the system after leaving her to get Chewie and explain what happened, and the Wookie seemed to genuinely understand his motives and reasons for what he’d done.

 

Soon after, Chewie agreed to help Luke return Rey to where it was that she would be able to live a life free of the intergalactic war that was going on around them, and so they had decided to take her to a place where Kylo Ren and the First Order would never find her.

 

The two had decided to take the girl to Tatooine.

 

Kylo Ren would never guess that she was there, and Luke was sure that Rey would be safe on his home planet, however rough and difficult it had been for him when he’d grown up there as a boy.

 

Even with some of her memories taken from her, he had a feeling that she would be able to adapt well and survive there, seeing as how his and his father’s home planetary system was much like Jakku.

 

Luke found himself at the makeshift door to her hut again, and he quickly held his hand out toward her, effectively using the Force to hold her in place and push her into an unconscious state so that she would not wake.

 

While the memory wipe would render one unconscious for a long period of time, he didn’t want to take any chances of having her wake in the middle of the storm.

 

He didn’t bother to stay silent as the Millenium Falcon sounded over his head in it’s descent to land in the large clearing that he and Rey had been on only hours prior. Lightning painted the sky with gold and white every now and then, but Luke barely took notice of it as Chewie picked up the girl and placed her over his back, the Wookie taking care to be gentle.

 

Luke lowered his arm and watched the Wookie exit through the doorway, and when they vanished from sight, he looked around the dwelling, his eye catching on the dulled, grey quarterstaff that lay on the floor.

 

He thought of when he’d seen the girl clutching it with vise like grip while she’d slept, and when he picked it up, it was surprisingly warm under his aged fingers.

 

He didn’t sense the thrum of a kyber crystal within it, but he knew that if circumstances had been different and he’d decided to train her, the staff he was holding now would’ve been a wonderful piece for her to use to create the hilt of a lightsaber.

 

He stood, slinging the strap of cloth that was wrapped around the middle of the weapon over his arm as he grabbed the small pack to the right of the cot.

 

A twinge of remorse washed over him at the thought of the little belongings she would have to begin her new life with, but he told himself again that it was for the best and that she would be safer this way, soon pushing the feeling away.

 

When he finally vacated the dwelling and again entered the storm that raged through the system, he cleared his mind and allowed peace to wash over him even through the rain that pelted that him.

 

It was a short walk to the ship that had belonged to his best friend, and when he was finally aboard it, he couldn’t stop the barrage of memories that he’d come to have with the ship. He caught sight of the sleeping girl that lay upon the lounge behind the special game table that he remembered watching R2-D2 and Chewie play as a younger, more innocent man.

 

Nothing had ever been simple for him. It seemed that was just the will of the Force. When he looked around, it was as if a Holoprojector was displaying his memories as he watched his younger self seated at the table while Leia held him close, the two of them desperate for comfort after his mentor of sorts had passed on at his own father’s hand.

 

Soon the memory changed and he was standing with a lightsaber he should never had been gifted, a helmet on his head as he blocked blasters from the training droid while his mentor and best friend had watched. That had been before he’d met Leia, before he’d truly been a Jedi. It had been before he began his adventure with two individuals that he could trust and call friends for the entirety of his life.

 

He was interrupted from his nostalgia when a frustrated yell from the Wookie sounded from the cockpit, and so he went to go pilot a ship that held more meaning for him than anything in the galaxy.

 

It was a fitting, but sad reality that while he’d essentially gained a newer, better life after he’d taken his first step in the ship, the girl who slept wordlessly on the lounge would not, her fate decided by his own hand.

 

* * *

 

As a child, Rey had always dreamed that she would wake from her sleep to find her family waiting for her outside of her makeshift home in the desert of Jakku.

 

Every once in a while, she would dream of running in a clear grassfield while a sapphire sky was painted above her and waterfalls cascaded into a lake behind her, a boy of fifteen with ebony hair and alabaster skin chasing her. The two of them would be laughing with the such innocence until the boy caught her and they playfully rolled around in the grass together.

 

The dreams about the boy had always seemed to ease her conscience and she looked back on them with fondness, unlike the dreams she would have about her family, as those made her sad.

 

Something about the boy was…familiar, and when she’d wake, she would feel as if her mind was trying to tell her something, but she could never determine what.

 

When she turned nine, she would dream less about her family. She began to imagine herself on an island where rain pounded against the rock with a ferocity that would make her grimace. The island was flanked by a dark, bottomless ocean with waves that whipped against one other while the wind screamed. Rey would always see a figure on the island that was clad in black from head to toe, a black mask with flecked silver over a face that she would never see.

 

The figure never harmed her, but still she would step back when he made advances towards her. Only when she was ten did she follow the urge to step towards instead of shrinking away from him, a certainty within her that he would not harm her, and when she stepped into his strong arms, she would feel safe.

 

At fifteen, those dreams began to lasted longer, and she would begin to have them more often with the older that she became. More often than not, though, she would dream of the boy from the grassy clearing.

 

The dream she had now was different, though. Instead of an eight year old girl, Rey found herself to be the age she actually was, which was nineteen.

 

She found herself laying on a soft, padded bed of grass as she gazed up into the sky. An earthly smell filled her nostrils, and she could hear the waterfalls in the distance.

 

Rey turned on her side to find a man with ebony hair and alabaster skin. She slowly rose, propping herself up on one arm as she looked down at the creature next to her. She could not deny that he was….handsome. His skin was peppered with beauty marks that somehow accented his odd, but defining features, and she could not pull her gaze away from his face. His face had it’s own little constellation of beauty marks, and he had a long nose with full, pink lips.

 

She had an urge to touch them, but when she noticed a long, ragged scar that ran diagonally across his temple to the bottom of his cheek, she doesn’t stop herself from running her fingers over it’s raised edges.

 

At her touch, the man’s eyes flutter open to reveal big, beautiful brown eyes that immediately meet her gaze. Her heart flutters, and when she makes to withdraw her hand, he places his own over hers and encourages her to move it again.

 

She does, and his hand moves to cup her face as he speaks. His voice is low, but not unpleasant.

 

“Reya…You’ve come back to me,” he breathes.

 

She is caught in a daze between looking at him and his trying to understand his odd words, but she does not move away from him. Had it been anyone else, she would’ve already struck them and knocked them unconscious, but there was something about this man….

 

Rey feels as if she has seen this man before…been with him before, yet she is certain this is her first dream of him. After a moment, she lets her hand fall from his face as her brows furrow. Reya…why does that name sound familiar?

 

“I am Rey. Who are you?”

 

The man is unfazed by her question and runs his thumb across her cheek before he continues,” I am someone from your past and future. I promised to come back for you, and I intend to do so, soon.”

 

“Why do you seem so…familiar?”

 

The man considers her for a moment before sitting up and letting his hand fall to grasp her chin and tilt her head towards him.

 

“As I said, I am a part of your past and future. You will see me again, soon. Just promise me that you ‘ll wait for me, my love. Promise me you’ll wait.”

 

She is confused and bewildered at this man, and she knows that she should ask more. Rey should not be allowing a man she doesn’t know to be so familiar with her like this. To to be touching her like this, but this is a dream, and for now, she is oddly at peace in the security of this man’s touch, and that is a feeling that she has seldom endured.

 

There are so many questions, but she will give him her promise, as she doesn’t have much to lose. She isn’t going anywhere. A part of her hopes that this man will come for her, as that would mean that she was something to someone, but she does not tell him this. Instead, she answers him in the most genuine tone she can muster.

 

“I promise.”

 

As soon as the words fall from her lips, everything fades to black.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Crosses fingers and hopes that you guys liked this chapter *
> 
> Again, please share your thoughts on this chapter with me, as your opinions matter very much to me as a writer!
> 
> If any of you would like to talk to me on Tumblr about my fic or have any questions that you would like answered, don't hesitate to contact me ! I love hearing from my readers! On Tumblr, you can find me at reyloworld :)


	3. The Girl on Tatooine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An update on a Sunday? What???? XD
> 
> You guys will seldom see updates from me on this day of the week, but I had some time to write while being out of school due to Hurricane Matthew ( and because I was sick ), so I've decided to go ahead and post it today! 
> 
> Anyways, are you all ready to read? 
> 
> LET'S GO ! :D

 

 

* * *

 

 

It is when she hears the rattling of metal around her ankle that Rey’s eyes snap open and she all but growls at the aged, winged creature that hovers before her. It is an ugly thing, it’s skin reminding her of the horrid Unkar Plutt. Rey had seen a creature like it before at Niima Outpost, but this one was much older. This one was a male Toydarian.

 

It has a face that reminds her of a Bantha with decaying, yellowed teeth that protrude from the sides of its mouth like daggers and a trunk for a nose that hangs down from his face, and when she looks over and notices that one of her ankles has been encased with steel, she’s tempted to knock his teeth out.

 

“Take the shackles off of me now, else you’ll find yourself dead in a matter of minutes,” she seethed.

 

It wasn’t unlike her to make threats when she was in unfavorable situations, but something about the way she’d said it surprised her for a moment. No one had ever dared to imprison her in the past, as Rey had worked hard to maintain a reputation others would fear, but she’d heard stories from the other scavengers at Niima Outpost about what happened during the night to those who were stolen from the desert, and to say that it didn’t frighten her would be a lie.

 

Sure, there had been the occasional junk boss that had tried to coerce her to work for them , or scavengers that had tried to take her finds from her after a long day in a fallen ship, but never had anyone so much as whispered of capturing her.

 

It was an outrage to wake and find that she had allowed herself to be imprisoned through the thrall of sleep, and she immediately began to ponder of how she would escape, but not before an image of her quarterstaff meeting his face flashed through her mind.

 

A deep, guttural laughter came from the creature, a grin quickly crossing his features,” Rey, dear girl… Do not forget that I am Watto of Tatooine, and you were sold to me. Maybe you have not come to accept it, yet, but you’re mine, now.”

 

At that, Rey allowed herself to feel something that she hadn’t felt for years. She felt anger roll within her. Her jaw clenched, and she growled,” Who sold me? Unkar Plutt?”

 

Watto was quick to respond, his gruffness utterly lacking any acknowledgment to her rage, “Some outlander. He said his name was Luke.”

 

Rey’s eyes moved from her foot to Watto’s old, orange eyes,” Luke who? I have no recollection of anyone in my past with the name of Luke.”

 

The creature shrugged, soon moving back from her cold gaze.

 

“I don’t know, girl. That’s all he told me. He paid me handsomely for you, though, so he clearly wanted to get rid of you for some reason.”

 

At that, her fists clenched and her nails bit into the worn skin of her palms. It seemed that all she was good for was being a burden on others. She had always felt as if she were an inconvenient and unwanted responsibility that Plutt had been forced to deal with, and Rey wondered then if she would ever find a place that she would truly belong, or if her family was ever going to come for her.

 

Rey had never allowed anger to linger before, but she couldn’t find it within herself to burn it away completely. Too much had happened on Jakku, the one place Rey was certain that she could a home.

 

The girl ‘s early life on the system hadn’t been easy. Plutt had been sure to move her around from settlement to settlement as a child, her owners essentially starving and torturing her until she ran away to find the fallen AT-AT, the structure soon turning into a home where she’d begun her training to become an established scavenger.

 

Suddenly, images of the man with the alabaster skin from her dreams played through her head, and she began to feel her rage melt away into sorrow.

 

With a sigh, she decided she was done trying to deceive herself with the foolish idea that she could remain safe, bright and pure for a family that had left her to fend for herself.

 

Rey needed to adapt, just as she’d always done. To do that, she needed to cease the naivety that someone would come for her and that things would get better. It was clear to Rey now that life, at least for her, would always be one full of cruelty and enslavement. She needed to grow up.

 

Her head lowered before the creature in defeat, and she withdrew her nails from the skin of her hands before whispering, “Where am I and what do you intend to do with me?”

 

Watto slowly moved to be closer to her, nearly beaming with a pride that she wanted to silence,” You are in Mos Eisley, Tatooine. You work for me, now, and my reasons for keeping you are to have you tend to the shop until I can be paid off for you to be sold to someone else.”

 

The Toydarian paused, the sneer on his face becoming even wider as a small, wicked bout of laughter escaped him,” Though, I do believe you will be here for awhile, girl. I have been in need of a slave for quite some time. From what Luke told me, you are very capable and have a range of skillsets that I will need, so I don’t think I will have it in myself to sell one of my best treasures unless it’s for a very, very good price.”

 

His laughter faded, and Rey bit down hard on her lip to keep away the tears that were threatening to spill. She was Rey of Jakku, and she wouldn’t let this creature know that he’d begun to break her, even if she was losing her hope. She made a choice, then. When she completely broke, if she broke, it would be in the solace of a place where no one would be able witness it but her. She would not give anyone the satisfaction of being present to see the decimation of the good in her that she had for so long worked to keep up.

 

Her head rose, but her eyes stayed on the floor, “Very well. What is my first assignment?”

 

The creature grunted, soon turning away as his irritating voice came as an echo in the settlement around them,” For now, change into the clothes that are laid out on the table right there. A pretty face like yours may be just thing to get some fools to come in here.”

 

Watto disappeared behind the sheer, white curtain that hung over the archway serving as the entrance to her room, and Rey was glad that he’d gone, because he would’ve seen the lone tear tread down her face in her sadness.

 

It was then that she inspected the room around her, and it was a clear reminder that the girl was Watto’s property, now. Her own room, if she can if even call it that, is armed only with a makeshift bed that is made from old ship parts and a wooden table that looks to be a thousand years old. There are small, blinking circular lights cut into some sort of sandstone that make up tables and walls that light the shop from what she can see through the sheer material in front of her, and the girl surmises that she’s somewhere in the back of the store.

 

Her eyes follow the cold and unforgiving grey chain of her imprisonment from her ankle to the wall behind her cot, and when she moves her ankle ever so slightly, the metal bites into her skin and she has to clutch onto the mattress beneath her to keep from crying out from both frustration and pain.

 

The girl told herself to grow up and accept that she was a slave, and now, as Rey makes to rise from the makeshift cot, her hand moves to wipe away the tear. Suddenly, the creature’s head pokes through the curtain once more to utter another command from his vile lips,” Oh, and get used to walking while being bound by the shackles. If you disobey me, you’ll earn another for your other foot, girl.”

 

When the girl could no longer discern the flapping of his wings, she thought she heard a voice in her head, the sound of it clear and distinctive with a message that oddly calmed her.

 

“ _I’m coming for you, Rey. Just wait for me, love.”_

 

The voice sounded as if it had come from behind her, so she furtively casts a glance backwards, but is met with disappointment to find no one there.

 

Rey soon looks to the edge of the bed to see two stacks of ‘clothes’ that make her want to retch. Never in her life has she ever seen anything so…revealing.

 

The first stack consists of a black silk band that is thick enough to cover her breasts, but her stomach will be bare. For the bottom piece, there is a thick golden band that she supposes circles her waist, but it connects to the front and back with long, charcoal colored pieces of silk that she knows will skim along the floor at her height. There are two matching pieces of silk that go with the top of the ensemble, the material reminding her of the arm wraps she’d worn on Jakku.

 

The second stack is a singular piece, something she assumes is called a catsuit. Rey has seen one of these before, but it had shown much more skin than this one does. This one is skin-tight and shows the entirety of her back, but on the front has a symmetrical V-shape that trails downwards from her clavicle to her navel, the same design cut along her each of her sides. After the ebony linen of the outfit meets at her stomach, plain leggings hug every inch of her from her waist down to her ankles.

 

Both of the ensembles are indicative of what Watto’s purposes for her are, but she can tell that each of the outfits are more expensive than anything she’s worn before. Each are black as the nights on Jakku, and she is surprised at herself in that she is curious to see what they will look like on. Rey has never worn anything other than the beige or washed out grey of her standard work outfit on Jakku, as the temperature had been too hot to wear anything else.

 

The air around her now reminds her of the system she grew up on, and she hopes it will get cooler as the day drags on.

 

Deciding that she doesn’t have much of a choice, Rey’s eyes move between the two ensembles that Watto has prepared for her, and her choice is almost instantaneous. She picks the outfit that shows the least skin and chooses to put on the catsuit.

 

The girl puts the outfit on slowly, not caring if others think she looks less than appealing in it. She has been sold, and this is her life, now.

 

As she sheds the pieces of her old clothes, she feels as if she is shedding parts of her old self as well. With every layer she removes, the more she allows herself to let go of her past, and the more she casts away her hopes and childish dreams.

 

When she finishes, she considers what to do with her hair. Her hands, as if with a mind of their own, move to the buns piled atop her head and make quick work of them, her wild curls soon tumbling down her shoulders. The girl shakes her head two times, and then twists the hair around her fingers until it is all tucked into a single bun at the crown of her head.

She figures that she’s not ready to let go of her old self, entirely.

 

Taking a deep breath, she pulls aside the curtain and emerges into the shop.

 

* * *

 

 

It turned out that the girl would be harder to locate than Kylo Ren had previously thought. Ren hadn’t felt her in his mind since the night when she’d lost her memories, and the Supreme Leader had given very little instruction on what he called their ‘Force Bond.’ Nonetheless, the Master of the Knights of Ren knew that Snoke had a reason for telling so little about it.

 

Ren supposed that Snoke wanted him to learn about the bond through his own means, and he was more than happy to follow through with it, however frantic he was to find his Reya and bring her home.

 

Kylo had taken his Upsilon-class command shuttle and left the Finalizer almost immediately after his meeting with the Supreme Leader, and two day cycles later, he had grown impatient as he paced the cockpit.

 

He only allowed thoughts and memories of her to roam in his mind, which wasn’t hard to do, considering she was always somewhere in his thoughts. He tried to find that invisible cord he’d tugged on to feel what she’d felt when her memories had been taken by his despicable uncle, but he couldn’t seem to find it, despite all of his attempts.

 

He’d been at it for every hour of the two day cycles that he’d been aboard his shuttle with minimal success, but Kylo Ren was never one to give up when there was something he wanted.

 

Ren promised himself that he would locate her, no matter how long it took. He’d been trying to find her for years, and when he was at long last reunited with her, she’d had no memory of him. It had saddened him to no end, and he’d wanted so badly to tell her what she and he had done together in the past, but Snoke had forbade him from doing so.

 

Kylo Ren had wanted to find the map to Skywalker, but his reasons for it were not just to kill his uncle. The Master of the Knights of Ren had hoped that in finding Luke, he could learn the whereabouts of Reya.

 

“Help me to know where you are, Reya….” he whispered through the modulator of his helmet.

 

He attempted once more to reach out for her and find the thread in his mind, but when nothing happened, he huffed in frustration, slowly opening his eyes…..and then he felt something. He felt _her_. It was her force-signature and he was sure of it. Her signature had so suddenly pulsed through the Force that he took a step back in disbelief.

 

He felt the thread in his mind begin to tug at him, and he did not hesitate to follow it. The longer he followed the thread, the more he sensed her and what she was feeling. Ren discerned a strong amount of sorrow, but it was the raw and unbridled rage that utterly caught him by surprise. Only when Reya had been a child had she shown a signature that was remotely close to this one, and that was when the two of them had been separated.

 

The rage throbbed and ebbed through the bond, and he soon found himself shocked through the dark power that washed over him. Whatever was happening to her was something that was slowly destroying the light that she had held for so long, and Ren found himself hoping she thrived in the anger and enjoyed the power of it as he did.

 

Her fury was tempting and so very alluring, drawing him in and flowing into him. Uncontrolled anger was the basis for any force-sensitive to fall to the Dark Side, and he desperately wanted to bask in it with her, but he quickly became concerned that she might hurt herself if she allowed her anger to fully overtake her. Ren would teach her how to handle the emotion in due time, but right now, he needed to do something, anything to calm her.

 

The Master of the Knights of Ren attempted to speak to her so that she might heed him, a message soon forming in his mind. Reya’s vexation pulsed through the thread again, and then Kylo threw his message across it with all the sincerity that he could muster, hoping that she would receive it.

 

_“I’m coming for you, Rey. Just wait for me, love.”_

The raw rage was slow to simmer down, but it did not disappear completely. Dejection suddenly rushed through the thread, and apathy was the last emotion he felt before the thread was cut away, and Ren was again left alone in the wake of her darkness.

 

With a sharp intake of breath, Ren pressed his thumbs against the locking mechanism of his helmet and lifted it away from his head as he went to enter the coordinates into the navigational system.

 

Kylo had found her, and he found himself unable to sit still in his seat as the light blue lines of hyperspace danced around him. His uncle was a fool to think that hiding her again would be enough to stop him from finding her, though he had to admit that to take her to Tatooine of all places had been a smart move on Luke’s part.

 

With the memories of her playing like a Holovid in his mind, Ren silently thanked the Force for giving him the gift of a bond with Reya so that he would never again lose her.

 

He would make certain that Luke would endure a slow death, as would whatever had caused Reya to feel such strong rage when Ren came across them.

 

Ren would kill anything or anyone for her, and until he was reunited with Reya, he doubted he would ever find the galaxy to be one that was not a cruel and wicked one. And so, for the second time in a decade, Kylo Ren felt excitement trill through him as his shuttle brought him ever closer to the only creature in the galaxy that he cared about.

 

Soon, he will reunite with his Reya, but now, he waits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I'm really dragging out the separation of Rey and Ren, but I HAVE to lay out some plot before we move on, and I PROMISE THAT YOU ALL WILL HAVE A REUNION IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!!
> 
> As always, please let me know what you guys think about the chapter, as comments/kudos are like water to a parched desert scavenger. XD
> 
> Lastly, don't be afraid to talk to me over on Tumblr, as I love hearing from my readers (My username over there is reyloworld ) !


	4. Destiny And Her Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my dears! It has been SO LONG since I last updated, but I do have my reasons for that! I was unable to upload this chapter for quite awhile because I had college applications to submit and a very large load of schoolwork that I needed to do, but since I’m done with all my applications and my schoolwork is more manageable now, I can devote more time to this fic! Also, the wait for this chapter was longer in part because it went through so many revisions and rewrites, so for that, I’m sorry. 
> 
> I can’t thank you all enough for the support I’ve received with this work, as I never thought this piece would have very many readers. :D 
> 
> Anyway, I promise that updates will return to the weekly schedule, so you all will get a new chapter every Monday! 
> 
> Ready to see how Rey and Ren finally meet again? 
> 
> Let’s go!!!

 

* * *

 

 

 

The ion engines of his shuttle are still humming as Kylo Ren steps out into what he knows to be called ‘Docking Bay 94.’ His focus solely on locating Reya, he walks up to the first person he can find, holding his hand out and raking through their mind to find any information on where his Reya has been taken.

He tears through every memory the Twi’lek has, her pink body being shaken by tremors in his ferocity to find anything on Reya. Ren nearly growls when he finds nothing on her, and it is then that he faintly registers sounds of strangled breath, and before he realizes it, he’s killed the creature.

Ren doesn’t watch the body slump against the synstone behind her, and no one in the bustle of anonymous figures passing by and around him seem to acknowledge nor care about what he’s just done, either. It seems to Kylo that he is more anxious to find her than he previously thought.

The dual suns of the system are beating down on him as soon as he enters the open area amid all of the circular synstone shops, and the air around him is thick and humid, coiling and wrapping around him like a snake. He hasn’t felt the sensation of being overheated since he was a boy, as The FInalizer was always cooled and air-conditioned. But when he’d been an eight-year-old boy, his bastard father had been sure to bring him here, to Mos Eisley, one of the most dangerous places in the galaxy.

It is when Ren feels the first beads of sweat trail down his masked face that he realizes he must get inside quickly, else the suns of the system will rob him of his consciousness and cause him to pass out. He may be strong with the Force, but even it would not be able to help him against the power of the suns of Tatooine. There was only one thing that could, and she was somewhere on the system. He could feel her, he just didn’t know where.

Through the hubbub of shouting and whining of the traders, vendors and buyers, he now moves to find any of the Stormtrooper’s that have been deployed by Hux to the area, as Tatooine had since become a patron planet to the Order in exchange for the system to remain untouched by the Resistance.

He eventually finds one of Hux’s men near the famed cantina where his despicable uncle had begun his pitiful life’s pursuit to kill Ren’s grandfather, but he puts the thought away when Ren notices that the trooper is drunk through the way his words slur and how he nearly trips over himself in his attempt to salute the masked man advancing toward him.

It is an amusing, though ever predictable predicament for one of Hux’s men to be found disgracing the Order in such a way, and Kylo still thinks that the Supreme Leader should’ve used the Clone Army. At least the army wouldn’t turn against the very organization that had raised it, unlike some traitorous Stormtroopers.

When his name comes as a drawl from the Stormtrooper, he turns his attention back to the drunken person, and he will make sure to end the man falling in front of him as soon as he gets what he needs from him. Ren’s voice comes through the modulator cold and venomous, and the man in front of him only now begins to cringe and fall back in fear, as if he didn’t recognize the masked man in black garments who wears a menacing helmet.

“You are a disgrace to the First Order, FN-2989. I’m sure your superiors, the Supreme Leader included, would be so proud to hear that one of our own is making a fool of the organization that has taken care of him since birth, when no one wanted him.”

The Stormtrooper takes one lazy swing at the masked man, but Kylo is faster and stronger than him. Ren’s fist connects with the trooper’s jaw, and the man falls to the ground clutching at his face, blood beginning to drip from the new raised, purple bump along his chin.

Kylo doesn’t give him time to recover. He is the Master of the Knights of Ren, and he is feared by all cretins of the galaxy, save for the Supreme Leader and the girl he can feel through the Force. The masked man holds his hand out, using the Force as he rushes through the drunk man’s mind. He is not gentle as he was with his Reya, for he now viciously rips through whatever he can find until he lands on one memory that snares his attention.

He sees her. He sees his Reya, and she’s unconscious. The girl is thrown over a familiar Wookie’s back as the creature ducks to follow a hooded man into a shop that he knows all too well. It is the merchant shop of Watto, the creature that had enslaved his grandfather. It was Snoke who had told him of Watto, as his damned father would never dare to tell him anything about his past in his own selfish fear that his son would embrace the Dark Side.

So it seemed that his lovely Sith-to-be was sold into slavery as Darth Vader once was. Anger was an emotion that was ever present with Kylo Ren, but now, the embers of it were sparked into an inferno that Ren would take out on the fool in front of him as well as on his uncle when the time came.

Reya was not a fragile thing, he knew. Still, to see her be sold and coerced to again be a slave to someone infuriated him to no end. She’d had her memories torn from her mind not once, but twice, and now she’d been sold again. Ren would make sure his uncle paid for his insolence. The man had no idea how much pain that Kylo would make him endure before he finally would allow Luke to die.

“You’ll pay for this, old man,” was all that came through Ren’s modulator as he tore his crossguard lightsaber from his side and ignited it mid swing, cleanly severing the trooper’s head from his body.

Rough breaths came from him, and The Master of the Knights of Ren reminded himself that he would need to control his emotions if he was going to find her. He could care less about a trail of dead bodies in his wake if it meant they would lead him to her, but he knew that she would not be feel the same. At least, not yet, he thinks.

 Ren closes his eyes and envisions her face inches from his in the forest of Takodana, her warm, lithe body pressed to his as he carried her through the trees. He allows the memory to calm himself down, and he knows he will find her, now. The Stormtrooper hadn’t been as useless as Ren had originally thought, as the trooper had given him Reya’s exact location.

It was valuable information, and perhaps he would’ve kept the fallen trooper alive as a gift for bestowing such a prize to Ren. Nevertheless, it was of no concern now, and he moved away with a quickened pace to his steps, his excitement bubbling within him. Finally, Reya would be returned to his side where she truly belonged.

Though it had only been a few minutes, Ren felt as if it’d been hours before he stood a few feet outside the entrance to Watto’s shop. He’d made sure to take off the helmet and tuck it under his arm, as he didn’t want to give the girl any reason not to trust him.

A sudden trill of nervousness traveled through him when he caught sight of the girl with sun-kissed skin and hazel-colored hair. She sat on the ground just through the doorway, and he pushed past the feeling at the thought of how long he’d wished to be reunited with her. This was his second chance to make things right with her, and he would be damned if he blew it.

 

* * *

 

 

Rey is cleaning an XJ9 Hypercharger when Watto tells her to come to the front of the shop. She is in the back of the store, leaning over one of the tables, clutching a cloth and scrubbing at the piece of technology with far more exertion than should’ve been necessary for the small part, but she is lost to the daydreams of a man with alabaster skin and raven colored hair, a man who’d promised he would come for her.

It is a foolish hope for another chance at life that she knows she should abandon, but she nevertheless clings to the only connection she thinks she has to her past or future.

Watto had told her to clean the piece of technology and the rest of the ship parts that he has out in the back of the store while the son of a bantha did whatever he did at the table near the entrance of the shop, but it seems to her that he has changed his mind.

When he calls for her, his raucous voice reaches Rey with the same flippant and irritated tone he had taken on since her arrival only a few days prior, and it makes the girl want to put him in his place. Not even Unkar Plutt had ever spoken to her in such a way that made her feel as if she really was only an item; an item that was meaningless.

“Girl! Get in here or else you’ll earn another shackle for that other foot!”

She considers not following his command, but she is reminded of her place when she, without realizing it, moves her foot to have the shackle bite into the soft skin there.

The girl nearly yelps at the pain, as the shackle has since rubbed and grazed her ankle to the point in which the skin is now angry and red, adorned with welts and blood that every now and then trails down her skin beneath the unforgiving metal. Watto would not allow the girl to clean the wound until the end of the day, but even then, he wouldn’t let her out of the shackle, so there was always blood to her dismay.

She was filled with a fresh surge of rage toward her captor. How she wished she had her quarterstaff and could bash in his face with it. The thought of such a thing made her smile for a moment, but it quickly faded as she rose from the table and stood straight to her full height, moving quickly so that she would not have to endure the pain for long.

The girl plasters a look of neutrality on her face, trying not to break it when she takes her steps toward the winged creature. Rey will not give him the satisfaction of seeing her in pain, so she keeps her eyes on the floor as she moves, each movement she makes with the foot that is chained bringing on waves of piercing pain that shoot up her leg.

When she is finally at the front of the shop, she stands next to the doorway, moving her head down as she casts her eyes from her makeshift room to the floor as Watto had instructed her to do on her very first day of work for him. She hated looking so vulnerable, but where else could she go?

The girl had resigned herself to her new life, as she’d learned that to fight fate would only result in sorrow and disappointment.

Even so, Rey had been doing her “job” for two day cycles now, and she was not enjoying it in the least bit. She felt as if she was fresh meat for the ‘patrons’ to look at, and the fact that the outfit she wore bore so much skin wasn’t helping her.

She felt blood trickle from her ankle, cascading down until it began to pool on the floor. The girl sighed, knowing she would be brutally punished for the mess later with some more brown and purple bruises to mark her on her back. Suddenly, she felt something familiar pulse through her, but before she had time to process it, a black-clad figure came through the doorway to her left, brushing past her with an air of authority that made her curious about him.

Rey contemplated on if she should look up, and then a strange sense of compulsion to be near the figure began to take hold of her.

Unsure of what to do and surprised at the onset of the sensations, the girl remained where she was, her eyes locked on the ground in front of her.

The figure’s steps were slow and measured, and Rey took that as an indication that they were examining the space and inventory around them. For a moment, the girl thought about the man from her dream, and the promise he’d made. A small part of her had a rising hope that the figure walking away from her was that man, but the part of her that was more accepting of life’s cruelties refuted the hope, so the girl remained in her place, wholly unaware that Kylo had been watching her.

Ren had only allowed himself to peer at her twice as he’d passed by the girl on the way in, and to say that she was beautiful was an understatement. He’d recognized her instantly, and he was finding it very difficult to keep his eyes off of her.

Kylo could feel the waves of anger, hesitation , and confusion that were rolling off of the girl, qualities that were in line with the dark side. The small fact was a precious one to him, as she was beginning to embrace her origins, and that meant that she truly did belong by his side. Ren would show her how to harness her feelings and give her the ability to never feel vulnerable again. He would show her the true potential of the power that the damned Skywalker was too afraid to unleash.

Kylo hadn’t noticed how quiet the shop had been in arrival, but the Toydarian takes care of that. The silence that had befallen the shop was broken when Watto spoke, his gruff voice loud in the small synstone store, “Well, if it isn’t the esteemed Kylo Ren himself! How may I be of assistance to you, sir?”

When the black clothed figure speaks, Rey nearly jolts, as she recognizes the voice, and the name is somehow familiar, too. She feels as though she’s heard them somewhere, but she isn’t sure where, or even when. The girl feels something pulling her to the man again, but she resists- she is not yet sure what the sensation is or if she can trust the man. If she has learned anything from Jakku, it is that trust must be earned.

Tearing his eyes away from the girl that stands behind him, Ren acknowledges the Toydarian, masking the emotion in his voice with a low, matter-of-fact tone.

“I require a ship part, Watto, but I expect you to allow me to look around without hovering over me, as I know my way around well enough without your assistance. You know that.”

The girl was tempted to look up at the man who had spoken with a deep voice. Watto would punish her for it later if she looked, so she decided to keep her eyes down, even through the curiosity that was causing her anxiety. The urge to be closer to the mysterious man wasn’t subsiding, either, no matter what Rey did to try to get rid of it. It seemed to her that there was some sort of higher power that was bringing this on, but she is too confused to try to reason past why she is feeling this.

Watto looks taken aback for a moment by Ren’s words, but when his eyes fall over Rey, the Toydarian seems to realize Ren’s true interest, a sickening grin spreading across the creature’s face.

Unbeknownst to Rey, Ren is feeling the same need to be near the girl. He does not yet know the implications of their Force-Bond- all he knows is that he needs Rey, and the only thing standing between he and she is the winged creature that hovers before them.

Wordlessly, the creature acquiesces to Ren’s commands and travels to the back of the shop where Rey had been moments earlier. It wasn’t like Watto to listen to his buyers so voicelessly, so Rey knew whoever was standing only a few feet away from her had a considerable rank and large amount credits, as Watto was never agreeable.

The Toydarian gave a snide mutter, “Some parts are in here, but the more costly ones are outside. When you’ve found what you’re looking for, which I will assume won’t take you too long to choose, I’ll be waiting.”

Only when the creature leaves them does Ren turn around to face the girl before him, sensing the nervousness and confusion within her steadily increasing under his searing gaze.

His Reya is still the desert flower that he’d always known her to be, but she has changed drastically since the last time he has seen her. Gone are the three knots that had hung down the back of her head, her hair instead wrapped into a circular coil at the crown of it. Her golden skin is dotted by black-and-blue marks on the arms, and when she moves to take a step back, she winces and looks down to her right ankle.

What Ren sees next make him nearly mad with rage, as the damned Toydarian had her chained to the wall, her ankle caked and streaked with crimson, the blood pooling around her on the floor. Irrepressible fury strikes him through, and it is very difficult for Ren to resist the urge to take out his lightsaber and destroy everything in sight.

Kylo had known his grandfather had been a slave to Watto, but never had his grandfather been chained up and left to sit in his own blood so that others could look at him for enjoyment. He would’ve ended the Toydarian a long time ago if he’d known it’s location, but Snoke had never allowed him time to search for it, so it had become an endeavor he pushed to the side until his training was complete.

He made a promise to himself that he would take the life of the Toydarian for this. He would enjoy seeing the vile life form cut down for his despicable actions, and he would do it for both Reya and for his grandfather.

He voicelessly thanked the Force again for giving him the gift of the Force-Bond, as he would never again lose the girl from the deserts. This would be the last time anyone would hurt his Reya, and of that, he was certain.

Ren takes two steady steps towards the girl until he stands only a foot or so away, but her eyes stay on the floor. He desperately wants her to just look at him, but he knows she is not comfortable around him, yet. He will change that, he hopes, with his next action.

His gaze moving from her angelic face to the piece of metal encircling her ankle, he holds his hand out, channeling the Force through the rage swirling within him, and then throws it at the shackle.

There is a series of soft clinks, and then the piece falls to the floor with a relieved sigh from the girl before him.

Rey wasn’t expecting the figure to move closer to her, and she most definitely wasn’t anticipating her cheeks to begin to flush when she could feel the intense stare coming from the person that had moved to be closer to her. Somehow, the girl knows he won’t hurt her, but even still, she is surprised and even joyful when the cruel metal that had been wrapped around her foot falls into the puddle of her blood below her.

The gasp that escapes her is one that she hopes the figure before her will take as a sign of appreciation, and she figures that she should see who has done such a thing for her, for a slave.

When she moves her gaze from the black boots of the figure’s feet up to their thighs, their chest and their arms, she can’t help but to admit that they are well built, but she wonders why they wear such a heavy outfit for such an environment as the one in Mos Eisley. It is when she looks upon the alabaster face, set with beautiful brown eyes and dark, raven colored hair that her eyes widen and her mouth falls open.

It is the same man from her dream, and when his deep, mellifluous words reach her ears, she somehow knows that he is the one that promised to come for her.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m here to take you away from this place.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you guys liked this chapter, as I worked very hard on it!
> 
> Please let me know what you think, as I value your feedback- it’s kind of like portions to a desert scavenger :D 
> 
> Again, thank you for reading my story and taking the time out of your day to invest in my work! I am astonished and humbled to have as many readers as I do, and I really strive to create a story that is as enjoyable to read for you guys as it is for me to write! 
> 
> If you have any questions for me or just want to chat, you can find me on Tumblr ( @ reyloworld ) !


	5. The Darkness Beckons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, dear readers! I suppose by now it is evident that I don’t update on a set schedule, but I promise I will try to be better with that! Between all of the schoolwork and things of the like, my update schedule for this fic is easily thrown off, but as the holidays come closer, I’ll have some time off, and that means more time to write and get some chapters up for you guys! I am so sorry that updates to this work are so sporadic, but I do want you guys to know that this chapter took more time to write because I’m a very unconfident writer. Anyway, the next chapter will likely be up next Tuesday, as I will be touring colleges this weekend. ☺
> 
> Ready to find out what happens next? 
> 
> Let’s go !!! :D

 

* * *

 

 

For the first time in her existence, Rey is at a complete loss for words. She doesn’t know what to do or say, and the intense gaze from the man who calls himself Kylo Ren isn’t helping her, though she peculiarly finds that she doesn’t mind to be looked at by him. He is the first person she has come into contact with since arriving in this decrepit shop that hasn’t looked at her as if she were an item to be auctioned off.

When his eyes move to her own, there is a flood of emotions in them that extends beyond any word he could’ve spoken aloud, as they are infused with suffering and conflict. She can relate to those feelings, and when she looks deep enough, she can discern that there is adoration in his eyes as well.

Perhaps it isn’t just his eyes that tell her that, as Rey thinks she can almost feel them, too. It is as if they being pushed to her through his aura. The fact that the girl could perceive this suddenly jarred her from her silence, and she impulsively whispers,” Who…. Who are you?”

The black-clad man lowers the hand that had been outstretched toward her ankle, his line of vision never leaving her face. He seems to consider her for a moment, for Ren isn’t sure if he should disclose her past to her, yet.

Ren was aware that with her memories gone, it would was a possibility that what he told her would seem preposterous to her, so he resolves to discuss the matter with Snoke before he does anything rash. The last thing he needs is to sabotage his second and last chance with the girl. He chooses his words carefully, watching and drinking in the visage of the girl that he’d come to love so much.

“I am Kylo Ren, someone that was sent by your family to come for you and bring you home.” Ren isn’t lying, and he hopes that the girl will believe him. He wants to take her away from this unforgiving planet and shower her with a sense of affection that she, nor he, has ever had. He thinks it will be a long while before the latter will come to pass, as she holds a very small sliver of trust for him now, if even that.

At his response, the girl goggles, another gasp coming from her pale, parted lips. Ren gives her a moment to process what he’d said, a barrage of conflicted emotions playing across her features as he sensed the onset of hope begin to burn through the anger she’d had buried within her. But as soon as feeling of hope had risen through her, Kylo senses her wash it away and replace it with hesitation and rage.

It seemed to Rey that Kylo Ren had a way with words that made her unable to find her own. She so desperately wants him, needs him, to be telling her the truth. If she is being honest with herself, the girl doesn’t know how much more disappointment and hopelessness she can take, for she has already sank so low as to be a damned slave for selfish, conniving creature that she has no doubts will one day sell her, to which she knows she will be forever tainted.

And so, when Kylo Ren tells her of a family that had sent him for her, she doesn’t allow herself to take comfort in any emotion except for the ones that she’d harvested since her arrival at the shop.

She hasn’t been hurt mentally, as the extent to which Watto could harm her would never exceed that of one state, for she has shut off any sense of her old self that may have been optimistic about her situation. She figures that if she remains angry and untrusting, she will not get hurt.

Rey is broadcasting her thoughts so loudly, so clearly, and Kylo desperately wants to hold her and tell her everything will be alright. So much has happened to his beautiful desert flower, and he is still at an impasse in that he is helpless in fixing what is tearing her apart. Neither of them has had a true family, but he hopes in the future he can change that for her when he is the one to reunite her with the only family she has left.

Ren thinks that maybe, just maybe, if his Reya gains her memory from when she was a child and embraces her origins, she’ll remember who he is and can take her rightful place by his side. 

The girl notices that Kylo seems to perceive what’s going on with her, something she hadn’t been expecting. Rey supposes that perhaps his own pain is derived from a family he didn’t get to have when she sees the empathy and longing flash through his eyes.

Though Rey has some odd instinct to trust him, she doesn’t know anything about him, so she is wary of his intentions though she somehow knows he doesn’t want to hurt her in any way. Ren hopes to change her mistrust, too, with what he does next.

“You are justified in your hesistance to believe me, Rey, but I assure you that you can put your trust in me. You can take faith in that I will not ever harm you.”

His words have a frustratingly calming effect on her, as she slowly begins to ease back from the stiff position she’d been in since Ren had walked toward her. Still, it isn’t enough to assure her of his true intentions, so she decides to see for herself if he is being truthful. She has seen enough on Jakku to know what happens to those who are gullible and oblivious to how horrid the world could be.

The girl raises one brow, crosses her arms over her bared chest, and then asks him a question that she is sure will prove what his true plans for her are.

“If you really are here to take me to my family, show me how I can trust you, Kylo Ren.”

At the sound of his name from her lips, he flicks his line of vision to the ankle that is smeared, caked, and oozing with her blood, and it takes so much for him to resist the temptation to walk out of the shop and cut Watto to pieces. In an instant, an idea plays through his mind, and his answer to her is absent of the loathing he holds for the Toydarian. He answers in a way he will only ever allot to her through a tone that is soft-spoken.

“As you wish, Rey,” he pauses as he looks upon her face once more,” What I’m about to do may seem a little unorthodox, but I promise you that you will be free of the pain in your ankle afterward.”

Her other brow rises as she cranes her head down, but she doesn’t move from her place, so he takes that as a sign of acknowledgment.

Ren focuses on her ankle once more, effortlessly taking the flames of his fury within him and wrapping them around his hand as he kneels down. He looks up to her face to see an expression of confusion, but he stretches his arm toward her ankle anyway, moving his palm an inch above the deep cuts and bruises adorning her foot.

He closes his eyes, calling the Force to him as he gently channels it to wash over the lacerations on her foot, sharp pain striking him through with the attempted Force-Heal.

Snoke had taught him this move in the event that he became injured in combat, but Ren had never used it before, as the Supreme Leader had told him that to use the Force-Heal ability, there came a price to Dark Siders.

The price, he had learned, was intense waves of internal pain that lasted for days, even months, on end when used by a practitioner of the Dark Side. There was also the fact that any Force-Heal conducted by one allied with the Dark Side would be a temporary means of healing for the one they were focusing the skill on, and the Force-Heal would need to be applied for months before it would become permanent.

Ren would be sure to get his Reya some bacta to take care of the wounds when he returned to the First Order with her, but for now, he would do everything in his power to ensure she was no longer in pain, even if that came at a cost to his own health. She was all that mattered to him, and there was nothing that wasn’t worth keeping her safe.

At the sigh of relief that escapes her, he feels as though he is being pierced by a lightsaber through the palm of the hand that he holds over her wounds. He doesn’t realize his eyes are screwed shut until he grimaces and perspiration begins to rain down his face. Ren begins to have difficulty breathing, and it’s only then that he registers that his name is being called.

He stops healing her and begins to pull away when he hears his name again, but this time, it’s louder than the previous time. Ren is vaguely aware of a smooth, soft hand running over his forehead, and the third time he hears his name, he hears Rey screaming it, though it sounds as if there is a filter that is interfering his hearing.

He opens his eyes to find her crouched down in front him, a worried, slackened expression in her features. One brow is furrowed, her lips set in a tight line as she slowly runs another hand over his forehead. Her skin is surprisingly soft on his own, and her gentle touches are like salve to a cut.

The girl makes no mention of the scar on his face, though she does press her fingertips to the now healed injury that she had given him. He watches for any change in her expression, but none comes. She remains anxious and worried, and Ren just stays still and allows her warm touches to soothe him.

They stay like that for a time, their eyes remaining locked as they search and study each other. All too soon, the girl’s voice fills the space around them, though he can still detect traces panic in it over his wellbeing.

“Kylo…Are you sure you’re alright?”

“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about this.”

He is so very tempted to take hold of her hand that hovers on his forehead, but he knows she isn’t comfortable enough around him, yet. So, he plants one hand on the floor to steady himself and asks her the question he has endured so much pain for.

“Do you believe me now, Rey? Can you not trust me in that I am here to bring you to home?”

The girl is in awe of what has just happened. She’d felt an invisible power encircle her, easing along her wounds and bruises until the skin began to pull and the wounds on her ankle closed. A soothing sensation of warmth pulsed through her as the bruises began to fade, but it all was stopped short when she began to feel her chest ache and she felt as if her hand had been set aflame.

It was intuition that told her that Kylo was in pain at her expense, so when she noticed he had beads of sweat that were trailing down his face as he strained for breath, she was brought out of the daze that had come at the onset of whatever Kylo had done to heal her.

Rey would not deny to herself that she wasn’t fearful for his wellbeing, as he looked to be in such a painful state that she was momentarily taken aback that he would go to such measures to attain a shred of trust from her. There is also an air of connection with him that draws her in, and she cannot resist the need to touch him and feel how the contact with him makes her own skin tingle.

The girl wishes she could know more about this man, for he is mysterious though she feels she knows him. When he asks if she trusts him, she doesn’t hesitate, relaying her response as if she has planned for this moment since she was a child.

“Yes, Kylo. I do believe you. You’ve shown me that I can trust you.”

At this, he releases a shaky breath and the corners of his mouth strain to rise upwards, and Rey realizes that through the suffering she saw in his beautiful, sad eyes, she has just brought him some degree of happiness. She briefly wonders how often he has smiled in his life, as she can tell he hasn’t done so for quite a long while.

The girl doesn’t know what to make of all of this, but she too knows how it feels to be unhappy for so long of a time. Not sure of what else to do, she dips her head down to peer at her ankle to see what has become of it. Gone are the angry red welts, thick cuts and purple bruises that had been running across her skin, the area now completely clear of any injury as if it had never been marked.

“Your ankle has been fully healed, Rey, but it is only temporary. When we arrive at the Finalizer, I will make sure you get proper treatment for them before you meet your family,” he says.

“Kylo…. What you did just now,” they both rise, but Rey is looking everywhere but at him, “What was that? Are you hurt?”

It is the question that Ren yearns to answer, but Snoke had told him not to tell her about too much of the Force until she meets with his contact. It seems to him that he will have to answer carefully,” I healed your wounds, Rey, and because of that, I am compromised, but it will pass.”

The girl remembers the feeling of her palm and how it felt as if it had been aflame, and she wonders if his pain had been worse than her own. Ren has just used some sort of supernatural force to heal her, and she is both amazed and intrigued by it.

She has never witnessed anything like what’s just happened, but the girl wants to know more about it and the man that has so willingly used it to take away her physical pain. Whatever the case, she could see now that he had no foul designs for her.

Rey meets his gaze, and she speaks with all of the sincerity that she can muster. She is the cause of his physical pain, and she feels remorse to have added onto all of the hurt that, for some reason, she knows already swirls through him. “Thank you, Kylo.”

Kylo nods, his voice still tinged with softness,” I was given instruction to bring you to a Star Destroyer called the Finalizer. That is where you family is and where I will bring you, so as long as you will allow me to.”

The girl distinctly hears Watto calling for her, but her choice had been made the moment that Kylo’s question had fallen from his lips. She answers, her firmness in her decision evident in the manner with which she speaks,” I assent. Please, take me away from this place.”

Her lovely almond eyes squeeze shut as if to block out the situation that his damned uncle had put her in, and Ren cannot evade the relief that falls over him at her decision to come with him. She will become so powerful and so much more than she ever thought possible, and Kylo is enlivened at the knowledge that he will be right by her side as she does so.

Ren lays a hand on the top of her head in an attempt to soothe her, lightly giving her a few pats until her eyelids rise and a warm smile glides across her face. The notion gives him more joy than a monster like him should be able to feel or deserve, as he hasn’t seen his Reya smile for him in such a long time.

He tells her she has nothing to worry or fear for anymore, but then a series of disgruntled grunts and barks erupts from the back of the shop as the son of a bantha that owns Ren’s desert jewel makes it’s way toward them.

The creature narrows his crusted, aged eyes as he looks between the two Force-Sensitives, baring his yellowed, crooked teeth to see the two in such close proximity to each other.

Kylo nearly smirks to see the Toydarian look so vexed, but he is caught off-guard when Rey steps in front of him. The girl is deliberately cementing her decision to come with him, but she also hopes to show him that she, though a slave, is not weak.

The way she speaks to the Toydarian is different than the mellifluous one to which she’d used with him, but Ren expects as much considering everything Watto had done to her.

When her words leave her, they are cold and aggressive, “Don’t try to stop me from leaving, Watto. Your ownership of me, unfortunately for you, has come to an end.”

The Toydarian gives her a guttural laugh, croaking out his response as Ren feels Rey’s fury begin to come alive within her.

“You think because you have a high ranking official from the First Order with you that it will stop me from taking back what is mine?”

At this, Kylo senses her rage riddle through her. He is both in awe of how the Dark Side is slowly becoming part of her and of her fierceness to which she conducts her brutality. Indeed, she would teach the Toydarian a lesson he wouldn’t soon forget, and Ren has no qualms that she will do so through means of the Force.

A disgusting, cruel grin breaks over the creature’s face as it speaks, a strident tone shadowing the mock he throws at Rey,” You are a fool, girl. You are still so young and naïve. I can see why that bastard dropped you off, here, for you have no loyalties and are utterly lacking in any manners or appreciation for your owner.”

Rage flares through her now, and Ren revels in the sight. Luke, the stupid bastard, had been an imbecile to believe that to erase Reya’s memories would thwart the awakening of her true powers. It was only in her nature to use the rage that had always been with her to call on the power that was rightfully hers to command.

The longer that the Toydarian’s annoying laugh pervades the space around them, the angrier that Rey becomes. The girl thinks about how much she wishes she had a weapon, any weapon, to strike the Toydarian with as it makes it’s advance toward her.

She briefly makes eye contact with Ren, and as if he knows what she’s thinking, he nods, a silent message passing through their eyes. Her body reacts on it’s own, and her eyes become cloudy as a yellow film falls over them, instinct taking her over. Behind her, Ren moves until he is nearly pressing himself to her , gently placing one hand on her exposed back to steady her.

Somehow Ren’s touch is both comforting and reassuring to Rey, and she, with effort, ignores the way her skin tingles with electricity at his touch. The girl raises her arm as she’d seen Ren do earlier, her palm outstretched towards the creature that is slowly making it’s advance toward them.

She thinks of her anger and of how desperately she wants the Toydarian to be in pain for enslaving her, going so far as to physically beat her through chaining her to the wall until her skin was raw from the unforgiving lashes to her back.

Ren is the only one who can take her away from this place, and the added fact that the creature wants to keep her imprisoned here only drives her rage further.

The girl distinctly hears a voice in her head that tells her to do it, to exact the same pain on the creature that it had done to her, and it is then that she suddenly feels something sizzle through her core.

When she hears a strained series of strangled breaths come from the despicable creature, she opens her eyes.

What she finds should’ve scared her, or even made her feel remorse, but instead, she only feels pride and a strange sense of fascination as she watches the creature clutch at it’s throat in it’s feeble attempts to be free of the invisible hold she has on it.

Rey is suddenly aware of the same invisible force that Ren had used on her, but it isn’t him it’s come from. She feels it emanating from her core and being channeled outwards towards the threat, and she finds that she likes how it, this alluring power, feels as it ebbs through her.

The girl stares at the Toydairan to see it’s eyes grow so wide that they look as if they’re about to pop out of his small head, and the sight transfixes her as a wicked smirk comes over her.

She closes her palm, bringing the choking Toydairan closer as she leans in and feigns a saccharine tone that is absent of any feeling, save for raw hate,” Am I truly a fool while I slowly rob you of your life? How does it feel to have such pain tear through you?” The girl is now the one to narrow her eyes as the Toydarian is racked with seizures, his guttural coughs escaping him and his fear evident through his strangled sounds.

Ren decides to intercede, but he finds that seeing his Reya so radiant with Dark Side is truly a testament to his ability to focus on the task at hand. He knows now that she is surely of her grandfather’s blood, but he cannot risk her to injure herself or learn too much of her abilities. He waits until no more sounds come from the creature and it is ungracefully dropped to the floor, to which point Rey lets out a breath and slowly turns to face him.

He had not left her side since the ordeal started, but the filter that had come over her eyes is now starting to recede as she walks toward him, her steps growing heavier. Ren takes the moment to admire how she is glowing with the essence of the Dark Side, and his Reya has never been more beautiful of a sight to behold.

When the girl moves to stand only a few inches or so from him, she utters,”Kylo? What just… What did I do?”

Ren wants to brush away the strand of her hair that had fallen in front of her face, but he resolves to what he’d done back in the forest on Takodana, back when he’d reunited with her for the first time after so many years that he’d spent trying to locate her.

He calls on the Force once more, this time directing it towards her body as whole, telling the invisible power to drag her into unconsciousness. The girl soon feels her eyes growing heavy, and her legs begin to tremble, her strength being drawn away until she can’t hold herself up anymore.

As she falls, she is vaguely aware of two strong hands that wrap around her back and upper legs, her own body being pressed against a taut, broad one. Rey isn’t sure if Ren is doing this or if it’s a result of what she’s just done, but she has no regrets and welcomes the sleep that is so temptingly calling her out of her consciousness.

When her eyes fall closed, Ren looks upon the girl that sleeps in his arms and is overwhelmed with the wonderment that he has for her. Her lithe body is light and her face is peaceful. As he brushes aside the stray hair that had been laying on her face, he whispers,  
“Rest now, my love, for you have begun to embrace your origins.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Bites nails at how bad my writing is *  
> I sincerely hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter, as I worked so much on it! Comments and kudos are like portions to a desert scavenger, so please feel free to let me know how I’m doing with this work! 
> 
> If anyone would like to chat with me about my fic, you are always welcome to come talk to me over on Tumblr or Instagram! My username on Tumblr is reyloworld !
> 
> Please don't be shy to talk to me, as I love hearing feedback from my readers!!


	6. A Dark Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, loves! It's been soooooooooo long since I updated this fic and I can't wait to get back into it with all of you! As per usual, I was super insecure about writing this as I always felt like I wasn't getting the chemistry or interaction between these two right, but I think I finally got the chapter around the general idea/feel I wanted it to have! 
> 
> As I said before, I do plan on fully returning to this fic! I couldn't post before since I was starting my first term at college (yeah, it's really fun being an adult....), but everything is going steady now, so I feel I can return to writing without compromising my studies (even though my major is literally ENGLISH) !
> 
> Anyhow, please enjoy this chapter! I tried the best I could to nail down the chemistry.... I do apologize in advance if this doesn't have the right flow or pace :I
> 
>  
> 
> Ready? Let's go !!!

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Amidst the crowd of the desert dwellers in Tatooine, Ren pays no mind to anything but the sleeping creature that he carries in his arms. Not a single life form says anything about the unconscious girl in the presence of the feared Kylo Ren, much less look at them, save for one human smuggler. 

The fool projected his thoughts so loudly, so graphically, about what he’d do to Rey that Ren couldn’t find it within himself not to throw the cretin against one of the synstone structures, effectively cracking his head open. Again, he didn’t stick around to see what had become of the life form, as it did not warrant his attentions. The only thing that did was Reya, the desert flower that was at rest in his arms. 

Ren battled with himself in his mind regarding what he'd do with the girl in the meantime, as Snoke had advised him that he was supposed to bring Reya to him upon their return to the Finalizer.

It occurred to Kylo that Reya would possibly be afraid of the leader of the First Order, for Snoke had a powerful presence and could manipulate all who came before him into doing and seeing things so despicable that it ruined them. On that thought, he shook his head, a small inkling of fear beginning to buzz within him.

Ren knew that Snoke needed more Force Users, so such a tactic would be pointless, but he couldn’t cease the anxiety that had begun to stir at the thought of Reya’s introduction to Snoke. He’d made it clear to the Supreme Leader that pain would not be the way to fully turn her to the dark, as he knew with certainty that her desire to find a new home and reunite with the only family she had left would override Snoke’s formulations. 

He feels a sudden tug on his chest and looks down to see Reya’s hand clasping his robes, her eyes closed in a peaceful sleep. Seeing her so calm and relaxed makes his anxiety waver, and he is very aware that his Reya sleeps with no troubles while in his arms.

Ren allows his mind to go to hers to block the negative dreams that he could see she was going to have, and though she makes an effort to resist him, she is still too inexperienced with the Force. Soon, the harsh suns of the system cease their attack on the pair of Force-Sensitives, and the sounds of Mos Eisley fade, cast away completely once the ramp rises to close the entryway of Ren’s shuttle. 

Not once does Ren let his gaze leave the sleeping body in his arms, for he is both preoccupied by this thoughts and the relief he feels to finally have his Reya returned to him. 

There is something he remembers that he needs to do, and Reya is soon placed, not without difficulty on Ren’s part, in one of the internal suites near the cockpit. 

Kylo has no desire to be separated from her, but he must attend to the tasks that the Supreme Leader ordered of him, even if that means he must make contact with the anathematizing General Hux, one who he loathed with great propensity. One day, Ren hoped to kill him as the man was pompous, arrogant, conceited and a constant annoyance to the plans of both he and the First Order. 

Ren lets his eyes fall over Reya one last time, running his gloved hand over her forehead and savoring the knowledge that that she was safe and finally with him again. Her expression is soft as she nuzzles the pillow beneath, her hair a mess around her face since coming undone in his arms. The girl’s mouth is parted in her sleep just as it used to be when she was a child, saliva oozing down to rest on her neck. 

For the second time in a long while, Lord Ren smiles to himself. It seemed that old habits did indeed die hard. 

He considers staying with her to rest in the chair in the corner of the room, as he is weary from his journey, but no sooner had he let his hand fall upon her cheek than his HoloMessenger rang, it’s chime especially tuned for Hux. 

Not wanting to cause her to awaken, he retreats and closes the door to her chambers. Then, with a sigh, Ren takes a seat in the cockpit and starts the ship. Only when it reaches the pitch-black atmosphere of space does Ren input the coordinates to The Finalizer, leaning back in his chair as the blue lines of hyperspace engulf the ship.

Upon pressing the small button on the side of the HoloMessenger, Hux’s profile appears to Ren, his usual cocky and supercilious attitude evident through the smirk spread across his pale face and the overbearing tone to which he speaks. Kylo is already annoyed and the fool hasn’t even spoken yet. 

“Greetings, Kylo Ren. I do hope you have acquired what it is that you left the Finalizer for. The Supreme Leader is becoming most anxious to hear of your little adventure to retrieve this mysterious creature. I was told that at this time you are on your way back, so be sure to report to Snoke once you return, else you’ll find your newly acquired creature to be obligated to report for you. “

At the last sentence Ren rolls his eyes, wishing he could just end this man’s life and be done with it, but it seemed the General was not yet finished, for Hux’s expression changed, if only for a few a moments.

He seemed….irritated and flustered behind the countenance of his eyes and his smirk slowly dipped, which amused Ren greatly. To see Hux in a state where he wasn’t in control and dissatisfied gave Kylo the greatest joy, and he knew exactly why the General was acting the way he was. The Supreme Leader had not yet told Hux of the new addition to the ranks of the Order, only that Ren was leaving on important business to collect a certain person, to which case all other information regarding Rey was not yielded. 

The Supreme Leader was very secretive, and because Ren and Hux were his most trusted officers within the Order, each were each privy to certain information, though Ren received most of the intel offered to Hux. The same could not be said for the General, as it was clear the Supreme Leader preferred Kylo to Hux.

The man continued, and then it was Kylo’s turn to smirk as he watched in utter glee. “I must confess, Ren, that the Supreme Leader has not yet made me aware of his intentions with the creature, but if they are being brought to the Order on your personal interests or to interfere with the ranks, I will have objections.”

At that, Kylo could not stifle the sudden bout of laughter, and so let it tumble from his lips. It was an odd thing to hear, as he seldom ever did so. Even still, the irony was delicious to him. Such was the nature of Hux to believe that his rank was comparable enough to the power of he and the Supreme Leader in thinking that his opinions were of significance. 

Rey would be more of an asset to the First Order than Hux himself, and his utterances would change nothing with what Ren already believed with certainty. 

Kylo soon quieted himself to listen to the last of the message, for the laughter ceased almost immediately after it had begun. “Lastly, Kylo Ren, the Supreme Leader requests you to bring the girl to Phasma’s quarters so that she may have the opportunity to speak with her in effort to assist her with the transition. He implores you to allow me to show the girl around, as well. If you object to these terms, take them up with him. That is all.” 

The message ended with a click, and Ren was again seized with momentary anxiousness for his Reya. Already the Supreme Leader was planning for Reya’s addition to the higher ranks with the Order, and she hadn’t even held an audience with him, yet. If his Reya had indeed stayed the same throughout the years, she would not trust, nor desire officers such as Hux and Phasma to keep company at first. She would need some time alone to fully acclimate to her new home. 

Reya could confide in and trust him, and perhaps Phasma, but not Hux. Phasma had proven to Ren that she was loyal and trustworthy, as she would die for her cause within the First Order. Of that, Kylo had no doubts. The General and his pack of Stormtroopers on the other hand could never be trusted.

Jakku was a hell of it’s own, and he doubted very seriously Rey had adopted the capacity to trust so easily, but time would tell with her integration into the First Order. Still, Ren was resolved to keeping Reya as far away from Hux as he was able, so he decided that he would speak with the Supreme Leader about the matter during their next meeting. 

He suddenly feels the invisible cord in his mind again, tugging at his consciousness. It is all he can do not to follow it and he can sense her again. Her signature is soft and warm, but he can tell that something is bothering her, for he can feel her distress as clearly as if it were his own. 

It would not do to allow his desert jewel to suffer like this.

As Ren makes to get up to return to Reya, the sound of her melodious voice behind him stops him from doing so, for it seems that she has come to him instead. How had he not been able to hear her?

“Sorry if I interrupted anything… I just had to get up since I had an…interesting dream,” she whispers. Her almond eyes are cast downward to the floor as she crosses her arms and shivers. It seemed to him that he would have to look into this dream, later. 

It is all he can do not to rise from his chair and embrace her. He so badly wants to touch her golden skin and run his lips over her own. He selfishly hopes that she will share his sentiments soon, but for now, he will tend to his Reya. 

Ren answers in a silvery tone, removing his cloak and offering it to her,” You didn’t interrupt anything, I promise. As a matter of fact, your presence is highly wanted by me.”

Her pink lips turn upwards in a small smile as a flush comes across her freckled cheeks and she meets his kind gaze. The girl watches as his eyes travel down her lithe form, and she can’t help but to gain a redder tint across her cheeks.

Had anyone on Jakku or Mos Eisley even thought to look at her the way the Kylo Ren does, she would have made sure they were severely maimed for it. 

But there is something about this man… Something that makes her feel she is everything to him even though she knows so little of him. She can see that there is an adoring look in his eyes as she takes the piece of clothing he offers her, and it is then that she notices her outfit is less than acceptable.

Ren watches in amusement as the girl’s eyes widen when she realizes how much skin is on display, a grin peeking at the edge of his lips. 

Throwing the cloak over herself, she thanks him, hesitating for a moment on what to say next. She has so many questions for him, but doesn’t know if he will be able to answer them.

Kylo waits to allow her time to choose what she wants to know. The girl needed to learn the ways of the Force at her own pace, and he would be there to help her through it. 

She has so many things she needs to ask him, but there is one thing that had been on her mind since leaving the planet Luke had left her on. Rey’s head tilts with a question looming behind her expression,”Kylo….back at Mos Eisley….what happened to me? What did…. What did I do?”

Her inquisitions had only just begun, but the questions she asked him now were ones he’d been hoping to answer since her incident at Mos Eisley. He was cognizant of the fact that Snoke wished to be the one to integrate her with the Dark Side of the Force, so Ren was restricted in what he could say before they arrived at the Finalizer. 

He picked his words carefully, knowing that if he gave her too much information too early, he would have to answer to Snoke for punishment. 

As he thought of what to say, Rey looked to him, his emotions rolling off him in waves. It was an odd feeling to her, to be able to sense what was going on with him. She still didn’t really know what do about it, so she just watched him, trying to ignore the small heat that was spreading across her chest when her gaze wandered over muscular form. 

After some moments of thinking of an appropriate response, he says,” You refer to the moments leading up to and during which you killed your captor, correct?”

Reya’s beautiful eyes move from the floor to his own as she nods, and he is glad to see that there is no remorse behind them. Rather, they are alight with interest as she takes a step closer to him, awaiting an answer. Ren thanks the maker she really has accepted the Dark Side. He cannot wait to show her just how intoxicating it can be to kill and explore all of her passions and dark secrets. 

Surely the Supreme Leader would not object if he told her a small bit about the Force, for he cannot find it within himself to resist her. 

So, he proceeds to tell her in earnest, excitement tinged in his tone.

“What you did back at Mos Eisley,” he pauses,” that feeling that riddled through you as you channeled power from your emotions; that was what we call The Force.” 

Lord Ren watches as her eyes widen, realization hitting her as insistently asks another question.

Her voice is slowly becoming tremulous as her excitement begins to take her over, and he shares her sentiments. How could he not?

“So, the power I felt…it means I am a Force-User? “ 

At this, another grin crosses Lord Ren’s features as he rises from his seat to lay a hand on her head, warmness in both his eyes and words as he responds.

“Yes, little one. You are a Force-User. That strong and tempting feeling you felt when you used it are because you channeled the Dark Side.”

He doesn’t need to look through her mind or gaze upon her angelic face to know she has another question, and he is more than willing to answer. 

The girl allows him to touch her head, but she is worried that he may be repulsed because it has been some time since her last shower. She shakes herself out of the thoughts when she meets his adoring gaze, her chest pulsing with a need to touch him. 

Since when had she ever cared about what another man might think of her? Since when did this man cause her to blush every five seconds? 

Lord Ren takes in her jumbled thoughts and nearly chuckles. Oh, how he wished she knew what she meant to him. 

Snapping him out of his thoughts, he hears Reya’s sweet voice again,” If I used the Dark Side to kill, will I always feel so-“ she pauses, trying to find words for the feeling that had set her body on fire when she executed her captor. The girl couldn’t lie to herself about this. 

The power that had ebbed through her had felt…delicious. She wanted to experience it again. 

His hand travels down to rest on her shoulder, and he selfishly wishes he hadn’t given her the cloak, as he cannot feel her golden skin in its wake. 

Seeing the girl struggle to find words for her sentiments, Ren decides to answer for her, knowing exactly what she was thinking. 

He replies, his voice thick with the excitement he feels, “Yes, Rey. Feeling what you felt when you channeled the Dark Side is something that you will always feel when using this side of the Force.”

An almost wicked smile comes across her freckled face, and she almost breathes, “I can’t wait to learn more about it, then.”

At that, a series of clicks and chimes alerts Ren that they have entered the sector at which The Finalizer is located. The pair of Force-Sensitives look away from each other for the first time as the blue lines of hyperspace fade and they are met with the black void of space, a familiar Battlecruiser in the distance. 

He looks back to find that she was already looking at him, and his chest throbs with a need to touch her again. Instead, he removes his hand from her head and steps back, watching as her head tilts at his sudden movements. 

Lord Ren makes to tuck his helmet under his arm- he will have to put it on soon. With one arm holding his helmet, he holds the other out to her, hoping she will take it.

Softly, he asks her one last thing before they land at the space station.

“Are you ready to go to your new home?”

The girl takes confident steps toward him, but tentatively grabs onto the arm he has offered. 

Reya’s eyes brighten as she looks up to him, her words bubbly as she says,” I don’t think I’ve ever been more ready for anything in my entire existence.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you guys like it? I am very eager for feedback of any kind, as I'm always looking to improve as a writer! 
> 
> Comments/Kudos are like portions to a certain Scavenger, so please let me know what you guys think! 
> 
> Also, if you guys have any questions at all, don't be afraid (see what I did there XD ) ! You can contact me at reyloworld on Tumblr and I will be happy to talk with you!


	7. Tempt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, my loves! I am SO glad to be back on board with this work ! I spent so much time writing this chapter as I wanted it to be perfect for you all. I felt bad about not updating this piece, so I went ahead and made this chapter double the length of what I usually post, which is close to about 20 pages long!
> 
> Anyhow, I can't wait to see what you all think of this chapter. I know I'm excited to see what you guys think!
> 
> You guys can now expect updates on Mondays on a regular basis, so just know that the next chapter will be ready for posting next Monday! 
> 
> Are you all ready to read? Let's go! :D
> 
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Rey didn’t know what she’d been expecting when the ship ramp descended, but as she gazes around the hangar on the Finalizer, it is all she can do not to let her jaw drop at all the ships that are here and how much nicer this place is than Jakku. 

Her hand had strayed from Kylo’s before the ramp had opened, but if she had still been holding it, she’d likely be squeezing it very hard right now. 

Never before has she seen so many strangely clothed people in one place with so much…luxury. 

Gone is the harsh sun and heat of her planet, replaced by a dark, night sky dotted with stars that lies behind and above her with a cool breeze that laps at her sun-kissed skin. The breeze follows her as she walks, and she supposes that perhaps this is what they call “air-cooling.” 

The girl is quick to realize she likes this chilled air. She doesn’t sweat in its embrace as she had in the sunlight and heat of her home planet. 

She feels odd as she walks with Kylo at her side, both because all eyes are on them as the two Force-Sensitives make their way through hangar seven of the Finalizer and because the environment before her is so unlike anything she’s seen. 

Rey is not used to walking on such a hard and stable surface; on Jakku, the sand had always shifted under her, engulfing her feet as she treaded through the deserts. She didn’t’ like sand. Here, the ground does not swallow her feet, but rather enables her to move more freely. 

The girl had never been watched before either, so to be such a beacon of attention made her…uncomfortable. She self –consciously pulled the black cape that Kylo had given her around herself, hoping it covered the bare skin of her chest. The people around her were dressed in white armor, strange helmets adorning their heads. Though she couldn’t see their eyes, she could feel them on herself and Kylo.

Kylo senses her discomfort, soon sending a soothing wave through the Force to her. She then releases an audible sigh; her eyes closing for a second and then opening again as he feels her anxiety slowly begin to wear away. 

How he wishes he could tell her it will be alright through their Force-Bond, but he knows that if he does, she will become inquisitive, and Snoke had ordered Kylo that he could not tell her much about the Force yet, so he resolved to keep quiet for now. 

Ren watches the girl take it all in, and he can’t help but to grin under his mask as he looks at her to see her eyes widen and jaw slacken slightly as she looks about. She is so beautiful in the light, he thinks.

Even the dirt and grime that cover her face and unclothed skin cannot take away from radiant she looks to him. 

This was just a taste of what he and his Reya would share. For now, he lets her take it in, but soon, they will have so much more.

Accept this attention, my love. Soon you will have the attention of the galaxy, he muses. 

Ship after ship is stacked on top of one another lining each wall to her left and right, as the two had landed right in the middle of the hangar on a platform that was exclusively used by Kylo, or so he’d told her. 

Bright, white artificial lighting is inlaid within the floor, ceiling and walls, contrasting the charcoal colored floor below her. There are more white-armored soldiers passing them as they walk, and then there are men wearing black tunics with an odd insignia on them who are posted at control stations around the bay. 

This is nothing like the girl from Jakku has ever seen, so she naturally becomes curious, tugging on Kylo’s arm like a child as they pass through two doors leading out of the hangar and through a long corridor lined with many, many durasteel doors and more soldiers. 

“Kylo, what are those soldiers doing? And why were they looking at us?” Rey asks with a flick of her chin toward the men.

The masked man answers almost immediately, his black helmet that is lined with silver over the visor turning to her as he does.

“Those soldiers are what we call ‘Stormtroopers.’ They are essentially our assault and policing unit for the First Order, which is the organization that stands for the insignia you saw on the tunics of some of the men in the hangar.” Ren answered. 

His voice is so deep and robotic through the modulator and as he pauses, Rey is taken aback for a moment. She hadn’t heard him speak with the apparatus on at all, though he’d told her he would explain why he had to wear it after she was presented to her family. 

“They were looking at us because I hold a very high and, well, imposing position here. That, and people are curious about you.” He adds in a matter of fact tone. 

Why? And what kind of position?’ she tentatively asks. 

“Let’s just say I hold one of the highest positions within the First Order, Rey. You will too, soon.” 

Rey knew better than to ask more about the helmet or position, for she had a feeling that he would become guarded and closed to her if she did so. 

Before he turns away, she asks one more question that she’d been burning to ask since the two had entered the hanger bay. 

“Um, Kylo… Where are you taking me? The girl pulls on his sleeve again, a pleading look in her eyes as she tries to get an answer. 

At that, Kylo slows his strides. He hadn’t realized that Reya had nearly been running to keep up with him. What a fool, he chides. 

He’d done this to her as a child when he was impatient and trying to get somewhere, though he never kept in mind that she was shorter than him and therefore slower until she would cry out in frustration. 

Rey thinks she can almost make out his eyes through his visor when he speaks, and for some reason, she finds herself irritated that she can’t see into his eyes and instead has to look at the damn mask. 

She finds herself missing his russet colored eyes and full, pink lips. She misses seeing the alabaster face that is dotted with beauty marks and flanked by a mess of charcoal colored hair that tumbles around him. The mask was so boring to look at, but his face on the other hand….

He’ll show me his face soon enough. That, and tell me why he wears that damn thing, she muses. 

Kylo speaks, finally, smirking to himself at her thoughts that she displays so openly. 

“We’re going to your chambers, Rey. You will have your own room and living quarters here. They are near mine, as I thought you would feel most at ease being close to someone you are familiar with.” Ren’s voice is lowered when he slows to allow the girl to catch up with him. 

The girl thinks she can detect a silvery tone through his voice changer, but it is so very difficult to tell. She briefly wonders if she’s reading him wrong, but her thoughts are silenced when sharp and unfamiliar voice cuts through her mind. 

“Rey, my dear granddaughter. I await your call. I sensed your presence here as soon as you landed. I cannot wait until you summon me. For now, I hope you enjoy the accommodations that Kylo and the First Order will give you. When you are ready, Supreme Leader Snoke will call for you. When that happens, I will be there.” 

The voice fades away, leaving the girl feeling as though someone had been pounding on her head. Pressing a palm to her forehead, she looks to Kylo, a question in her eyes. 

She doesn’t need to speak for him to know what she is trying to say, for he knows. For a moment, Kylo had felt the presence of another Force-User. It had been fleeting, though very powerful. 

Every Force-User had a Force-Signature unique to them, so that was why Ren knew exactly who it had been. Soon enough he would take Rey to meet the person who’d just contacted her. 

The girl feels her legs begin to shake, leaning to Kylo for support as he takes a right through the long corridor they’d just gone through, soon coming to another corridor that snakes around in a circular pattern until they board the Turbolift. 

She hopes that she doesn’t look weak, for Rey of Jakku is no weakling. 

It vexes her that this is the second time she has been in this kind of state around Kylo, because she doesn’t want to appear to Ren as anything but strong and capable.

She allows herself to briefly relive killing Watto, her owner. The girl finds some sort of sick pride in the action, as it reminds her how she is gifted and strong. 

Images of the Toydarian play through her mind and she thinks of how intoxicating it had felt to have such power called the Force flowing through her. 

It had been so ready to command at her fingertips and the girl wants to channel that power again, but not only for the sake of herself.

The memory shifts until she sees Kylo’s finely sculpted face that had looked to her in wonderment after she’d killed Watto. 

Seeing him like that thrilled her, and finds herself strangely wanting him to look at her like that again. 

The doors close as she presses her fingertips to her head in a feeble attempt to stop the pain, not paying attention to the numbers increase until they are on the fourth and highest level of the ship. 

Her strength suddenly begins to wane, and she knows it has to be because of the voice that had spoken to her. 

Why was she becoming so weak with such frequency? The girl from Jakku knows she is stronger than this, so why was it happening?

Ren tries to send another soothing wave to her through the Force, but it seems like it isn’t working. He will have to remedy this, no matter what. 

What a fool, he chides. How could I not think that her grandfather would try something like that and prepare for it?

“Kylo,” Rey pauses to let out a deep breath with her hand still cradling her forehead, “I don’t think I’ll be able to do much else today. There was so much to take in and I really am happy to be here, but I’m just really drained of strength and feel really tired, now.” 

The girl wants to know more about his strange powers and where the voice in her head had come from, but she is suddenly so, so tired. The pain that presses against her skull seems to be slowly sapping her of her strength. 

“Don’t worry, Rey. I can help,” Ren says while leaning her against the wall opposite of the lift, finally removing that damned mask with a pneumatic hiss. 

He takes a few steps back as he does so, but doesn’t remove the helmet before he can send away the Stormtroopers that had been posted outside his door.

With a flick of the wrist, they soon disappear. Once the lift doors close, the mask is gone and she can see his face once more. It is so much more pleasing to look at than the gnarled helmet, she thinks. 

He can almost hear the girl’s thoughts, and he fights the smirk that battles its way through the edges of his lips. He is glad to once again be alone with his Reya. 

Ren’s eyes meet hers and he before he has time to try to send some of his energy through their Force Bond, he feels his chest pulse, much like it had back on his ship on their way back from Mos Eisley as well as in Watto’s shop on that system.

 

What is this? Is it part of the Force-Bond? Kylo silences the thoughts as he refocuses his attention to the girl wincing as she presses shaky fingertips to her forehead.

It then occurs to Ren that perhaps the use of the Dark Side on Mos Eisley had more of an effect on the girl than he’d thought, for she had not fully embraced and learned the full extent of her power.  
Snoke had once told him that for one to be able to fully wield the Dark Side, they had to accept and allow its power to take hold of them. 

He had learned that for those who could channel it but didn’t embrace it would find themselves in pain or inflict serious injuries soon after the power was used. Perhaps because his Reya was of such strong lineage with the Dark Side, it had more of a punishing effect since she had not known and allowed it to become her, yet. 

Soon, he muses. Soon his love will find her power and family, thus being able to join him. 

Taking a step towards Rey, Kylo watches for any change in her countenance, hoping that she felt the pulse in her chest, too. 

The girl remains against the wall, never taking her beautiful hazel eyes from of his.

A puzzled look soon crosses her features as she gasps, for Rey had felt the pulse pound through her chest soon after she watched Kylo step away from her. 

Odd that it had happened at all, but even more so when Kylo had stepped away. It seemed to the girl that in his fleeting presence, her body responded. 

She thinks back to when she’d first seen Kylo in Mos Eisley, her chest pulsing every time he’d come near her in the small shop. Why was this happening?

Suddenly Kylo felt a strong pull towards Rey and it was all he could do not to run to her and kiss her.

He had longed for Rey ever since he could remember, but there had never been a time where he felt as if she were a magnet he was being pulled to. The Force was indeed at work, here, and Kylo knew this to be a result of the Force-Bond. 

Taking one step closer so that he was only a foot or so away from the girl, he arches a dark brow as he cocks his head,”You felt that, too, didn’t you?”

If he was being honest with himself, he rather liked this feeling. Being near his Reya again was soothing to his blackened soul. Still, he had to be careful. Reya was more important to him than anything, and right now, she needs his help. 

With a nod, the girl responds, “Yes. I’m not going to ask if you did, because something is telling me that you felt it, too.”

Rey cannot find words to put in coherent thoughts because he’s so close to her, now. Part of it is because she doesn’t know how to respond to these supernatural things most in the galaxy don’t experience, but most of it is that something about him just does things to her. 

A red flush begins to creep across her freckled cheeks as she casts her eyes downwards from his searing gaze. 

She has never allowed a man to get this close to her before, but she finds that she oddly likes it, so as long as it is Kylo that does it. His very presence is soothing to her, for some reason. 

Before she realizes what’s happening, he rests a gloved palm over her forehead. Kylo had considered taking them off, too, but he worried what would happen if he did. Their bond was strong. He could feel it.

Ren allows his instincts to take over when he lets his hand lay upon her. Something is telling him that if he does this, he will be able to help her. Her skin is warm under his gloved hands. 

At Kylo’s touch, Rey feels a pleasant coolness spread where his skin meets hers, much like the way bacta would feel when put over a cut. 

Almost as soon as his hand touches her, he endures a heated pain in his forehead that makes him feel as though someone is pounding it from the inside. Is this the pain that his Reya had been feeling?

Turning his hand over, he softly whispers, “Let me help you, Rey. I know I can help with this just as I did in the past.”

“If you think you can, go ahead.” 

Thinking of the invisible cord that somehow connected them through their bond, he channels a ball of his power in his core, sending it up his body and through his hand to their touching skin at the same time that he thinks of burning away the pain that is within them both.

Suddenly her eyelids lower, and she gasps at the contact. She feels the sensation in her head fade away.

It is as if with his very touch, he can burn away the pain as he had on Mos Eisley. Although, it seemed to her that he could take away pain by touching her just as well as without.

Moving her eyes to meet his, she tilts her head as her gentle voice fills the hall around them.

“You really need to tell me more about how you do that. It’s…amazing.” She admits. 

The girl wants to know the capabilities of this power, for it both interests and amazes her.

She finds the way that Kylo can use it with such practiced ease to be so…impressive. She’d been awake when he’d killed the smuggler on Mos Eisley and seen him kill on a whim with this same power, though he hadn’t known she was conscious. It was most impressive, indeed. 

Taking his hand from her head, he makes to pick up his helmet, amusement in his tone as he moves to go to a door past an alcove that is tucked into the right corner of the hall.

“Patience, my eager girl. All will come in time.”

Pushing off the wall she’d been leaning on, she answers with renewed energy,” I know all about waiting, Ren. Although….”

The girl pauses when he takes her hand so nonchalantly, placing it on an identification scanner on the side of a door she’d followed him to. 

How could he touch her so easily after what had just happened? Did he not feel what she had? 

The scanner is blue as it runs a line under her hand three times, the fourth time flashing red as it finishes her identification scan. 

Kylo stands back to allow her to take in what she’s about to see. He can’t wait to see her reaction, for he knows she had never had much in the way of living.

He hopes to spoil her with what lies beyond, for he will give her everything there is to be given when the time comes. 

The door in front of Rey lifts up to reveal a luxurious living room overlooked by a transparisteel viewport that comprises the entirety of what should have been a wall before her. 

“Oh, maker…” The girl whispers as she slowly makes her way into her rooms.

Directly in front of her sits a long, ornate onyx table with two crimson colored chairs on either side. Each chair has a high back that accentuates the ebony low-rise velvet sofa and two large lounge chairs that sit on the far right corner of the room. In front of them is a roaring fireplace set into the bottom of a blood red wall. 

To her left sits a kitchenette full of technology she has never seen before but hopes to utilize at some point. 

There is a marble island that is dotted with grey and black colors sitting just behind the kitchenette, flanked by chrome colored leather chairs that stand almost as tall as she. 

Rey briefly wonders what that area is used for. 

In the far left corner of the living room and kitchen, there is a set of double doors that sit atop a small set of stairs that glow red when Rey steps upon them. 

As she nears the doors, she can tell they are made with laroon wood. Each has ornate patterns that wind around in circular patterns with some type of crimson colored metal she has never seen. 

The girl doesn’t know why, but she finds herself looking back to Kylo, who nods at her. She takes it as some kind of affirmation that it’s all right for her to keep exploring. 

Pushing the wide doors open, the girl loses her breath yet again. Before her is a blood red lounge chair that is situated to her immediate right, but it is placed so that she can look at out of the viewport that again is where a wall should be. 

The bed in front of her is an enormous canopy bed that she guesses could fit at least six people. The bed is lathered in blood red colors that extend from the velvet comforter to the silk drapes that fall past each side of the bed. 

Finally finding words, the girl drags her fingers over the material covering the bed, the feeling of it soft under her calloused hands. She is certain it is probably the most expensive thing she’s ever touched. 

“Thank you, Kylo. For this…. and for fixing me.” Rey says gingerly as she makes her way toward one of the two remaining doors in the room. 

Behind her, Ren puts a hand under his chin, watching her curiously as he leans against the wall. 

He can sense that Rey likes her rooms, and he is glad for it. He would do anything to make her happy. 

“I’m pleased that you like it, Rey. These will be your rooms, for now. I am situated right across from you, should you need anything,” he adds. 

The girl doesn’t say anything, but rather nods in acknowledgment. When she nears the door to the right of the bed, it lifts to a large walk-in closet that is as big as the entire AT-AT she’d lived in on Jakku. 

“Whoa…” It is all she can say as she continues her journey inside. 

The closet is filled with racks and shelves of things the girl never thought she could own.

Filling the shelves from the ceiling to floor on her right are shoes that range from boots to high heels, and the girl briefly wonders why she’d ever need such things as high heels.

Rey is a practical girl, so what use would she ever have for uncomfortable shoes that had a sole purpose of being pleasing to the eye?

That thought nearly causes Ren to burst out laughing, so he clasps a hand around his mouth to stifle it as Rey continues exploring her closet.

Women and their use for clothes and accessories, he muses. He’d have to talk with Phasma about that shoe choice later. 

To her left hang different styles of clothing that both intrigue and confuse the girl, as there is a section containing workout clothes, a section filled with gowns, a section containing practical and everyday wear, and the last section containing capes and tunics. 

The girl cannot stop her hand from roaming over the material, as it all feels more expensive than anything she’d ever come across in all her years. 

Her fingers graze over material that is course and rough to material that is soft and pleasant, and the girl wonders what these things would have sold for on Jakku. 

Old habits die hard, she mused. 

She pinches herself, the sharp pain reminding her that that past is gone and to remain in the present.

Rey had never had the luxury to really appreciate clothing for anything other than functionality, but she finds herself hoping to change that with the mass amounts of new clothing she sees and feels before her. 

Perhaps there is a girl in her, after all, she thinks. She briefly wonders what Kylo would think of her in a dress, but she shakes her head at the thought. He’d probably scoff at the very idea of her one. He didn’t see her like that, did he?

Turning around, Rey exits the closet, the door closing behind her as she passes by Kylo and the dresser that sits on the other side of the lounge chair to the last remaining door in her rooms. 

Not really knowing what to expect, Rey again turns to Kylo. He nods, and then the door to the left of the bed lifts to reveal what she thinks is called a mirror. 

The mirror spans the length of the refresher, a vanity underneath it with a singular glass bowl that she supposes catches water that comes out of a strange looking apparatus above it. 

Ren seems to notice her looking at the sink and he can’t help but to walk nearer to her until he stands behind her to gently say,” That’s what we call a sink.” 

Pointing above the glass bowl, he continues,” that’s a faucet and to your right is a shower.”

Her gaze following the point of his finger, she looks at the far right side of the ‘fresher to see three clear panels that span the length of the floor to the ceiling. Behind them is a dial and showerhead, though Rey doesn’t know how to use them.

Rey’s cheeks begin to burn when she realizes she doesn’t know how to work this “shower.” She’d heard what people did in them, but she had never learned how to actually use them. 

She may have been young, but people on Jakku talked about all sorts of things; things that no young girl should have had to hear at ten years old. 

Sensing Kylo behind her, the girl suddenly becomes very self-aware as she stares at the two of them in the mirror.  
As the girl really looks at the two figures in the mirror, she almost doesn’t recognize herself. 

Before her stands a girl with dirt and grime covering every inch of skin that is exposed, her hair falling out of its bun in multiple strands. She clutches at the cape that she tries to hide herself in, but the dirt-covered abdomen and bottom of her chest still peek out of its folds. 

Rey can’t help but to be ashamed of the way she looks. It had never been much of an issue on Jakku because no one ever looked at her. No one really cared because someone who made her do things for money owned her.

Ren hears her thoughts and so badly wants to comfort her, so he puts a hand over her shoulder and gently squeezes to bring her back to the present. 

“You are welcome here, Rey. Don’t ever forget that. Your family is here, as am I.’ 

His deep voice calms her, and when she looks to this mysterious man that she is oddly drawn to, she notices how tall he actually is. 

Kylo looms over her. For some reason, though, his height makes her feel safe, especially combined with the warmth his body gives off when he is behind….wait, why is she thinking these things?

Oh, how his little desert flower amuses him. He can’t help but notice the ever-gradual change of her freckled cheeks from sun-kissed to a fiery red color that grows redder by the second.

The fact that he is the one to make her do such a thing brings him an odd sense of pride. Perhaps she feels more for him than she lets on?

The girl from Jakku may have been self-conscious, but that didn’t bother him as he encourages her to move forward with a gentle nudge to the back. 

A puzzled look crossed her now blushing face as a he moves aside the doors to the shower, tapping on the buttons until water begins to cascade down like a waterfall. 

“I’ll let you have your space so that you can get used to your new quarters, Rey. If you need anything, I’m right across the hall.” Removing his hand from the shower, he makes to step back and leave when he feels her grab hold of his arm. 

She seemed to like to grab him there, he muses. 

His thoughts are silenced when he looks into her beautiful hazel eyes. Her freckled cheeks are still a bright shade of red, and he cannot deny how cute she looks when she pulls her lip out at him like she used to do when they’d been younger. 

With the steam from the shower beginning to envelop the girl, her skin almost looks as if it is glowing and burning for his touch. 

Suddenly, sinful ideas come to his mind and he wants so badly to show her the pleasures she has not experienced, yet. 

Flashes of her body against his play through his mind, her soft lips gracing his as they explore each other with their hands. He imagines how her body would have looked under his as they roll in crimson sheets and how she would have sounded moaning his name.

The sinful thoughts cause his leather pants to constrict uncomfortably around him and he has to keep from growling.

What was he doing? His Reya hasn’t been here over an hour and already he is thinking these things? 

Her sweet voice soon bounces off the walls of the ‘fresher when she speaks, and her words are so laced with sincerity and thankfulness that it takes him a moment to process it as he is called out of his stupor. 

“Words can’t begin to describe how appreciative I am of everything you’ve done for me so far and what I’ve been given. Really, thank you,” effused Rey. 

 

Laying a hand on top of her head, he puts aside the lustful thoughts of taking her in the shower, opting instead to pat her as he coolly answers,” You will come to obtain so much more than this, my eager girl. I can see you want more in your eyes and soon enough, you will get it.”

Cocking her head at his words, Ren steps away from the girl and takes his leave, trying his best to keep his sinful thoughts under control. So many vivid images had just flashed through his mind when he’d been so close to her near the damned shower. 

He needed to get himself in check, it seemed. He thinks he hears her call his name on his way out, but he waves it off. His mind must be playing torturous tricks on him again. 

When Snoke had told him how tempting she would be to him, he brushed it off in the thought that he would be able to control himself, but it seemed that once again, his mentor had been right. 

“Damn, Rey… Why must you agonize me so much?” He growls as he steps over the threshold of his quarters. 

She was like forbidden fruit to him even though he knew she belonged at his side. What was he to do?


	8. Integration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello once again, my darlings!
> 
> I can't believe I met my deadline and actually have something to post when I said I would post it... Crazy, right? XD
> 
> This chapter is most certainly not as long as the last, but I wanted to have a slower paced chapter than my others so far, so this one is not as long nor as plot heavy.
> 
> I hope you guys don't mind! College stuff has been so difficult and I'm in the middle of so much shit right now, but I just HAD to get something out for you guys!
> 
> I do apologize if there are any grammar or word errors in this one as I didn't have as much time to polish it. Regardless, I hope you all enjoy! 
> 
> Ready? Let's go!! :D
> 
> ____________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Warm water cascaded downwards over Rey as she stood in the Sonic shower of her ‘fresher, the feel of the substance calming her.

The water was everywhere and the girl didn’t have it in her to do anything but be still as she felt the dirt and dust that had clung to her for so long gradually begin to fall from her body with the force of the tepid water that enveloped her. 

It had been so long since she’d last gotten to do this. Showers on Jakku had water that was impure and somehow had sand in it, so Rey would more often than not find herself to be in an even filthier state than when she’d entered. 

This was much different, and the girl was glad for it. For the first time in a long while, Rey felt ‘clean.’ 

When most of the dirt has fallen away from her, the girl takes what she supposes is called a sponge and places it under the steady flow of clear liquid above her. 

After putting some soap on the strange contraption, she starts to run it along herself leaving white suds in its wake. 

The sponge is soft against her, the gauzy material leaving behind clean skin as she moves it. 

Briefly the girl imagines a different set of hands that hold the sponge as a mess of ebony hair, alabaster skin and russet eyes meet her own. 

This wasn’t the first time she’d thought of Kylo in the ‘fresher, but she felt her cheeks begin to burn at that particular thought of him. 

Surely she was reading too much into things, right? He wasn’t growing attached to her like she was to him, was he?

Shaking her head at her inner musings, the girl hits the dial she’d seen Kylo flip earlier, and then the water ceases to fall over her. 

“Come on, Rey. Get yourself together.” Her whisper is so low that she barely hears it as she wraps a dark black towel around herself.

The girl makes her way to the closet that is on the other side of her room, her vision drawn to the deep void of space that lies beyond the transparisteel viewport. 

She wonders if she has any other family out there, somewhere, when she presses a palm to the transparisteel. 

Almost instantly, the girl feels her head begin ache as the same old, aged voice thrums through her mind.

“I am here, my dear girl. Soon you will be able to summon me as I told you earlier. Do not let your longing prevent you from growing strong, my child. Trust in the First Order, for I can sense you are nearly ready to summon me. Be strong as you always have been, my darling granddaughter.” 

As the voice fades, so does the pain. Rey wonders if that is because she is becoming more resilient to it, but her thoughts are silenced when she feels energy begin to snake around her. 

The energy is not hers, for she knows what it feels like to call for her power. This is something else, and for a moment, the girl thinks she hears the same voice. 

It is gone within seconds, leaving a confused Rey in its wake. 

What did it all mean? Had someone with the same power as her hear her thoughts? When would she be ready to call for her family?

There were too many questions that Rey didn’t know the answer to, so perhaps it was time that she learned how to use this power that was called ‘The Force.’

Kylo would find her if he wanted. She knew he would be able to. 

The girl is within her closet in seconds, but it is so difficult to choose one thing out of so many different pieces. 

Since she’s going to be training, she decides on black leggings and a halter style crimson tunic that leaves her arms and half of her back bare. Both the tunic and leggings hug her body, and the material is flexible which allows a wide range of movement.

The girl notices black leather arm bracers sitting in one of the many racks that remind her of the arm wraps she used to wear on Jakku. 

The ones she sees before her are much nicer and she can tell they’ll probably be more comfortable, too, so she slips them on. 

Old habits die hard, she figured. 

Next, she pulls her hair into a single bun at the crown of her head after drying it, just like she’d done on Mos Eisley.

She liked the new style and didn’t get annoyed when she did it, unlike with her original hairstyle that she’d always done. Then again, she’d only used that hairstyle because she thought her family would find her.

Scoffing at the thought, the girl pulls a pair of dark brown combat boots from the rack on her right, soon moving back into her room when she notices herself in the mirror. 

The sight that greets her almost has her gasp, for she almost doesn’t recognize herself in the dark colors. 

There is something different about her eyes. She can’t quite place what, but something has changed in them. The dark ensemble she wears suits her, too, she thinks. It contrasts with her now clean, golden skin. Had her hair become darker, too? 

As she finishes lacing up the boots and arm bracers, there is a knock on her door. 

Cocking her head at the noise, she stood from the bed and spanned the length of her room to her front door within seconds  
What was Kylo doing here so soon?

Despite her confusion, the girl pressed the button that would unlock the door, the action causing the mechanism to rise to reveal an orange-haired man that the girl assumed was General Hux.

He looked exactly like the person from the holo that Kylo had shown her on his ship.

“I am General Hux, Lady Rey. Captain Phasma was supposed to come get you, but alas, she got caught up in something and I volunteered to meet the girl that everyone has been talking rather….”

He pauses to give her a once-over as his eyes ravage every part of her there is to see, sarcasm dripping in his words,” The girl they’ve been speaking incessantly about,” he finishes with a sneer. 

Rey hadn’t known this man for five seconds and already she found herself growing a strong dislike for him. 

His words were tinged with mock and she could see by the way his eyes were narrowed that he wanted to challenge her. 

The way he’d just looked at her made her feel uneasy, if she were being honest with herself. For a moment, she thinks of Kylo and how warm and inviting his eyes are in comparison to this son of a bantha. 

I can see why Kylo loathes him so much. He’s a prick, she thinks. 

In a saccharine tone devoid of any real kindness, she answers,” Such a pleasure to make your acquaintance as well, General. I’ve heard much about you from Kylo.”

Her voice is high and confident as it fills the hall around them while she steps outside of her rooms. 

This man doesn’t scare Rey of Jakku. She has seen and survived worse men than this. 

Forcing herself to maintain eye contact with him until she brushes past him, she makes her way towards the turbolift. 

Hux turns to watch as the girl walks away from him. She walks with an air of authority that is similar to Kylo, but Hux finds himself utterly…intrigued by her. 

“Oh, and by the way,” she turns to look at him again as she plasters a fake smile on her face,” do tell whoever sent you not to do that again. I don’t think I like you all that much, General.”

A wicked smile that Rey does not see crosses Hux’s face. Any other female in the Order would have been timid and afraid to speak to one with such a rank as he, but this girl was not. This one had the gall to order HIM around. 

This one was an interesting girl, indeed. 

The Turbolift doors open, and then she is gone.

_____________________________________________________________

Weapons clash as Kylo Ren spars with his favorite Knight of Ren, Axar Ren.

Armed with vibroweapons, Kylo wields a Vibrosword that is a scaled down version of his lightsaber while Axar holds a Vibro-lance. 

The two circle each other after Kylo had blocked the attacks from Axar, their weapons at the ready. 

Kylo is the first to act when he lunges toward the smaller man. 

Axar is quick to roll to the left, but Kylo knows his knight and what his strategy will be. 

So, when Axar attempts to rise from his roll, Ren brings down his weapon to meet Axar’s lance as the younger knight looks up at him, sweat trickling from his brow. 

“You’ve got to be quicker than that, Axar. You leave yourself open for attack when you do that.”

“Like what, Master?” The other man questions Kylo, temporarily breaking his defensive stance. 

A knowing look crosses Kylo’s face as he pushes down on the lance and takes advantage of his opponent’s mistake, soon causing Axar’s arms to shake as he tries to keep his weapon extended.

Smirking at the sweat that is now pouring down the younger man’s face, Ren swiftly brings his weapon down on top of Axar’s exposed left shoulder as the smaller man screams at the pain.

Dropping his weapon, Axar’s knees give out as he falls to the floor, his head bowed in deference to his attacker and master as he rubs the skin around the angered flesh of his shoulder. 

This is one of Kylo’s favorite things about Axar- no matter what he did, the man was loyal to him always and saw him as a leader and teacher. 

Such a thing fed Ren’s ego and made him crave for all to be like his favorite knight. 

Axar’s voice cut through the heavy breathing that was overtaking them both, momentarily bringing Kylo away from his thoughts. 

His favorite knight was hesitant which was unlike him, for Kylo noticed the knitting of his brows as they came together and the questioning look in his eyes. 

Offering his arm so that Axar could get up, the younger knight took it and rose as he tentatively queried about Rey, keeping his eyes on the floor.

“Master…there have been rumors and whispers about a new addition to our unit…Is it true?”

Ren took a moment to think of a response, for he hadn’t expected to be getting questions about his precious Rey so soon. 

“Yes, young knight. It’s true. She’ll likely be joining me to train, soon, for I feel her presence coming closer to where we are with each passing second.”

Ren finishes as he feels her Force Signature, again. It is calling to him the closer that Rey comes to the training room.

Axar’s eyes lift from the ground to meet his, and he asks Kylo if he can stay to meet her. 

Kylo responds with a shake of his head, soon ushering the young knight out as he uses the Force to open the door to the training room. 

“When will we get to meet her, master?”

“Soon, young one. Soon. Now, go get some bacta for that wound of yours.”

Ren’s voice is deep as it echoes around the high ceilinged room, and no sooner does the young knight nod and leave than does Ren feel a familiar pulse beat through his chest. 

He wonders if Rey felt it, but he brushes the thought away to do some more physical training. 

If she was coming here, then perhaps he might put on a show for her. 

At that thought, he grins to himself. Perhaps he would see if she saw him to be desirable.

His mind and body are both put to work, then, for Ren does not tolerate weakness. 

Ren closes his eyes and imagines the room, channeling the dark power that has been resting idle within him since Mos Eisley, willing it to coalesce from the anger that coils and wraps around him.

He wills the eight sparring droids that sit behind him to rise from the floor along with every vibroweapon from every rack that adorns the walls to his left and right, soon opening his eyes as he grabs his own lightsaber from the waistband of his training pants. 

The weapon grows warm against his skin as he opens his eyes, soon pressing the button as the weapon comes alive in his hand.

Bright red light emanates from the sides and central vent as he swings it about, moving his feet to practice the Form I lightsaber technique. 

His eyes remain on the weapon he swings around him as he lunges to spin the device around in his hand. 

It is when he finishes turning in a circle to bring his weapon down on one of the droids that he notices her in the doorway with cheeks that are as red as the saber hissing in his hand.

The sight of her nearly drives him mad, for she looks so beautiful. She wears the colors of the Order, and they truly become her. 

Her skin almost looks as if it’s glowing against the dark colors and he can’t help but to smirk as he watches her nervously look about the room as she fiddles with a stray strand of hair that had fallen around her face. 

Perhaps he had more of an effect on her than he’d thought, he muses. 

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he wasn’t wearing a shirt? After all, the only piece of clothing covering the upper half of his body were armguards that connected by a thin strap that stretched across his chest. 

Unbeknownst to him, Rey tries to do anything but look at him. She’d watched him train with someone and he’d looked so…so hot. 

The armguards emphasized his muscles whenever he moved, the thin material straining against the movement he was putting through. They looked good on him, though, she thought. 

Was he trying to distract her? She HAD to be reading too much into things. Perhaps this was how all men were supposed to look when they trained. 

Ren presses the button on the hilt of his saber, it’s red light dying as the girl shifts her weight against the doorway.

He beckons her forward by holding one hand out to her, a silent offer in his eyes. 

Breathlessly, he says, “Rey, I’m glad to see you here. I’m in need of a sparring partner.”

If he were being honest with himself, he’d been hoping to spar with her. He wanted to see how strong she’d grown from being on Jakku for so long. 

His Rey was a fighter, and it excited him to be able to see her ways of combat and teach her how to refine them so that she could become even stronger. 

He pauses, both to catch his breath and because he senses something is bothering her. 

Kylo knows she’d told him that her thoughts were to not be touched by him when they’d been children, but he cannot stop himself from gently moving past her weak mental walls to see what is going on in that pretty head of hers. Not when he can see something is bothering her. 

Someone that was probably her grandfather, he guessed, had spoken to her once more. She’d been longing for her family again and the only family that she had left had answered. 

Ren would need to speak to Snoke about allowing her to meet her grandfather. 

He knew what it was like to be without a family. If anyone understood her, it was Kylo. Of that, he was certain. 

As he exits her mind, he brushes along newer, more embarrassing thoughts of hers. She’d been watching him since he’d been fighting with Axar. She found him….attractive? 

The fact that he knows what she thinks of him serves to cause the edges of lips to turn upwards. 

It seemed to him that she was coming to like him, after all. 

As he extracts himself from her mind, she nervously steps forward to take his outstretched hand, but her eyes move everywhere around him, never meeting his gaze. 

As their hands touch, Kylo feels the familiar pulse in chest once again, and he watches as Rey swiftly clutches her own chest.

So, it seemed to him that Rey felt it, too. 

Their Force-Bond was growing stronger, and of that, Kylo was certain. Soon he would be able to detect her feelings and thoughts simply by touch, or so Snoke had told him. 

He can’t help but to fold his fingers over hers as he pulls her to the center of the room, a questioning look in her eyes as she tilts her head to the side. 

“I…I needed to get out of my room, Kylo. I was getting a little restless in-“

She cuts herself off when he squeezes the dainty hand he still holds, her hazel eyes raising from the floor to meet his russet colored ones. 

“How long were you watching me, Rey?” He softly questions.

He waits for her as she tries to think of a response, her brows slowly coming together as she stammers,” I…Uh…I just found this place, actually!”

Ren is certain he would have been able to see the lie even without hearing her thoughts, so he decides to release her hand and step back to give her some space. 

You’re adorable, Reya, he muses. 

When he moves away, Rey somehow finds her words again as she moves her gaze across his bare chest and abdominals. 

He is well built indeed, she thinks. 

But why did he have to be shirtless? How was she possibly going to be able to focus with him looking like that?

Rey of Jakku has never seen a shirtless male before, and especially not one that was as pleasant to look at as this one who bends to crouch on his knees before her. 

His gaze is entreating and inviting as a grin crosses his face. He’s trying to do something to her but she doesn’t quite know what, yet. 

Shaking her head at the thoughts roaming in her head, she forces away the burning she had felt in her cheeks as she sets her lips in a tight line. 

She is Rey of Jakku, and she did not fall all over herself at the sight of a male. She had trained herself to be stronger and better than this. 

Putting her hands on her hips, she answers with a confidence that is not entirely there. 

“How long I’ve been here is besides the point, Kylo. I couldn’t stay in my rooms as I was getting restless, so I decided I wanted to train,” she declared. 

He is quick to answer, his gaze flitting from her face to one hand that messing with the fabric of her tunic. 

“If you want to train, I am happy to do it with you, Rey. For now, we should focus on hand-to-hand combat. “

“Why must we do hand-to-hand? I was hoping that maybe you could show me more of the Force, Kylo.” She retorts. 

Chuckling as he stands to his full height, he notices how her eyes are alight with interest at the subject she’d just broached. 

How cute you are, my little Reya, he thinks. 

He so badly wants to be her teacher and show her how to harness the amazing power that rests idle within her, but he can’t. Not until Snoke meets with them both. 

For now, all he can do is teach her the basics. And he is more than willing to teach her. 

“To be able to wield the Force, Rey,” he balls both of his hands into fists, pulling them upwards so that they are on either side of his face in a defensive stance,” you must first learn how to control the physical aspects of yourself and the things around you. Come, show me how strong you are, girl.” 

His words are taunting as a smirk edges on his face, and the girl standing before him happily responds to his playful goading. 

Grinning to herself at his challenge, she mirrored his action to put up both fists in front of her face. 

Rey of Jakku never backed down from a fight if she could help it, and this was no different. 

He may have been the one who’d saved her from a life of being nothing and having nothing, but she would be damned if she didn’t show him how capable and deserving she was to be here. 

Part of her wants to impress him and show him how strong she knows she is, but a more vulnerable part that she’d pushed back for so long wants him to show her how to use the strange power she’d used on Mos Eisley. 

She can see in eyes that he is set on his plan for sparring, so she will go along with it. Anything to take away from the restlessness she was beginning to feel when she’d been alone in her room. 

With him, she has yet to feel lonely or any sort restlessness she felt on her own in this odd, yet strangely comfortable new place. 

She wonders if that will change, for she is finding that she enjoys his company. 

“Bring it, Kylo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you guys think? Don't worry, I have some heavy plot coming up for you next chapter. :D
> 
> Comments and Kudos are like portions to a scavenger. Please let me know what you thought about this, as I'm a very insecure writer!
> 
> If you want to talk to me about this fic or anything in general, don't be afraid to come chat with me on Tumblr at Reyloworld or on Instagram at _.reylo._ !!!
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed and I will see you guys next Monday with the next update to this fic!


	9. Spark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, loves! I'm late with this update by three days, so I apologize for that. 
> 
> This chapter is shorter because I wanted to have a less plot-filled chapter where you guys can just enjoy some development between our two Dark-Siders ! :D
> 
> I plan on having the next chapter up by next Monday, but I wanted to get something out this week before I go to see TLJ in a couple hours because I will more than likely create a new fanfic that will start Post-TLJ at some point in the next few days. 
> 
> Anyway, who's excited for this next chapter? Are you ready?
> 
>  
> 
> Let's go!!!  
> _______________________________________________________________________________

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Never before had Rey ever had trouble in hand-to-hand combat, for she had always prided herself on her ability to fight if she needed to protect herself or her scavenged goods on Jakku, but this was…different. 

Kylo was strong, and she more than once found herself stealing glances at his chest and arms as he moved about when trying to dodge her attacks. 

He was well built, indeed, she thought. 

Something about the way he moved was just so graceful and effortless, and the girl couldn’t deny that to herself. He turned out to be a formidable opponent after all, and Rey was glad to for once have a sparring partner that actually posed a challenge. 

Where Rey found herself sweating and breathing heavy as she rolled to dodge his blows, he had barely broken a sweat and looked amused by her antics. 

Kylo lunged forward with a balled fist aimed for her midsection as he mused,” You’re quick on your feet, Rey, but-“

He paused, turning in a circle to sidestep her when she made to take a step back, “You’ll have to do better than that if you want to defeat me.”

Her eyes widen as each of his hands wrap around either of her forearms like a vice, pushing her backwards until she gasps when she feels the cold viewport against her back. 

“Kylo let go!” She yelps as she struggles to get out of his hold, a red tint beginning to fall over her freckled cheeks. He’s so close to her, and the fact that he’s practically half-naked doesn’t make matters any easier for her. 

Kylo is amused by her thoughts. He likes to get her worked up in this way, for he finds her to be so cute when she’s like this. 

“You asked for this, Rey. I know you can get yourself out, so show me you can do it. Show me how strong you are, girl.” He encouraged with a squeeze to her arms. 

The girl is not in pain, yet she finds that she oddly likes this as she attempts to struggle against him. She finds herself caught in his eyes as they silently challenge her, and his touch sends jolts through her body.

Was this what it felt like to be with a man?

“You can try to fight your way out of this, or…”

He pauses to take a step closer to her, their noses nearly touching at the closeness as he moves one hand down her arm, a lustful look in his eye as he continues in a haughty tone,” You can surrender yourself to me.”

It takes the girl a moment to process what he’d said, for she can feel his desire rolling off of him through their joined skin, though she doesn’t know how or why she is so sure of this. 

Even if she was caught in his captivating gaze, it didn’t stop her from wanting to learn more about the Force. She would have to fight through this, though it was tempting to concede to him. 

He just had something about him that made her want to be that way, though she didn’t know what it was. 

Regardless, the girl had to win this fight, for she wants to know more about the Force.

“Hmm, what intriguing choices. I suppose I could go with this, then!” She yells as she  
takes her knee and jabs it in his nether region. 

She had made up her mind to learn about the Force, so she would have to put aside his tempting antics if she wanted to get there. Even if they were methods of sparring she found herself enjoying. 

Releasing a heavy breath, the girl watched him as he grunted at the pain. 

Impressive, he thought. Most impressive, indeed. 

They circled one another, each trying to anticipate the next move of the other. 

The girl had always been known for her speed rather than strength on Jakku, but that was of no consequence to her, now. 

She wanted to beat him. She wanted to show him how powerful she was. She wanted to again see the wonderment in his expression when he looked at her as he’d done on Mos Eisley. 

Wait, why was she thinking that? 

Shaking her head at the thoughts, Rey quickly breaks the distance between them 

She needs to be fighting him, not thinking about him!

Dodging the kick that had been aimed at her abdomen, she manages to find words to say with the breath that seems to be eluding her.

“You’re tough, Kylo. I will give you that.” She huffs out. 

He is strong and experienced in combat, for she can tell by the way he moves. It seemed to her that she would need to use her speed to beat him, then. Her strength alone would not be enough in this fight, for he was too strong. 

Parting his legs in a defensive stance as he holds his fists in front of his face, he confesses in a warm tone,” As are you, Rey. None of my subordinates could give me half as much of a challenge in a fight, so you should be proud.”

He finishes as the girl makes to run toward him, swiftly dropping before him to slide underneath his parted legs where she rises to a crouch, swinging one leg under both of his to kick his legs out from under him. 

His eyes go wide as he falls to the floor with a loud thump. His knights had never taken him down with a single move, before. 

She truly was amazing, he thought. Even though she had hurt him, the pain was short-term. Pain made him stronger, for such were the ways of a Darksider. 

If inflicting pain on him made her stronger, then so be it. She is everything to him and will die for her if he has to. He is taken aback in his thoughts for a moment, but nothing could have prepared him for what happened next.

All he can do is lay still as he catches the girl rise from the floor in the corner of his eye only to stand before him. 

The girl had no sooner risen from the floor than she began to feel a pull towards Kylo, as if something was drawing her to him. 

She considers resisting, but she finds it fun to tease him. So, she decides to follow the strange urge to go nearer to him. 

“You didn’t think I’d make this easy for you, did you?” She taunts with a smirk crossing her expression.

Without giving him time to formulate a response, she does the one thing he hadn’t been expecting. 

Releasing a breath as she bends down, the girl places both hands on his chest as she straddles him, her grin deepening as she does so. 

His eyes widen again in shock of her movement. She feels so warm on top of him, every part of her fitting against him. 

“Well, looks like I beat you, after all, Kylo.” She declares with a wink. 

Not for the first time since he’d met her, he finds himself utterly captivated by her. 

Her bare hands push down against his pectorals and all he can do is stare into her beautiful hazel eyes and feel the warm sensation that spreads from her fingertips across his chest. 

This feels so right, yet so wrong. He doesn’t deserve this. He doesn’t deserve her. Yet, the monster within him will never let her go after this. She is his and he will be hers when she is ready.

Cocking a grin of his own as he watches her look up and down his form, he shakes his head in affirmation.

“So you did, Rey. I am thoroughly impressed.”

“You say you’re impressed, but am I really that much better than your subordinates?” she questions with a tilt of her head. 

It’s her secret that she enjoys the compliments he is giving her. 

Kylo’s response is immediate, for he wants her know how much more skilled she is than his knights.

“Yes, Rey. Trust me when I say you are better. Much better, in fact, than some that I’ve trained for years.”

He wants to lie like this all day because this feels so right, so he can’t find it in himself to move. 

The girl doesn’t know what has come over her, but she can’t deny to herself that she likes this. He’s looking at her as if he can’t get enough of her, but she doesn’t know why she knows that. 

She can feel emotions radiating from him that she knows are not hers, yet she knows she has the same ones for him within her. 

Longing and desire for something are the most prominent feelings the girl can sense, but what gets her attention is the pure, unbridled rage that ebbs through him. 

All of them are strong within the man looking up adoringly at her, and she is quick to realize that she, too, feels them. 

Was this because she was touching him?

Did they have some kind of bond through the Force that was making it like this, she wondered.

Whatever the case, Rey can’t deny the magnetic pull that had made her want to get so close to him. After she’d knocked him to the floor, something drew her to want to be nearer to him, like a magnetic pull.

Suddenly this position felt so…. was intimate the word? 

The girl didn’t know what to call it, but she began to soon feel tense while being on top of him. 

His scarred, alabaster skin was surprisingly warm under fingertips, and she briefly wondered what it would be like to run her hands along his abdominals. He is very muscular, she muses. 

Her cheeks burn as she tries, unsuccessfully, to keep herself from looking down at his toned form. Her eyes catch his when she feels the familiar pulse beat against her ribcage. 

She wondered if he felt the pulse, too, but puts that thought away when she hears him laugh. 

She can’t help but think him to look cute as he does so, for he looks so at ease lying beneath her. 

Chuckling at her failed attempts to keep her gaze from wandering, he is so very tempted to brush back the stray strand of brown hair that falls past her face, but he thinks better of it when a noise sounds at the door. 

Both Force-Users hear someone clear their throat, each quickly rising from the floor to see who stands before them. 

They are greeted by an orange-haired man that sneers at them both, folding his arms behind him as he says,” Ah, Ren. I should’ve expected to find the new one in here with you.”

Ren’s expression immediately hardens, and Rey is quick to notice as she puts on a mask of her own, a stoic expression soon crossing over her face. 

She doesn’t like this man, for he’d made her feel uncomfortable and had acted as if she were dirt beneath his boot. 

She will remain calm for now and see what Ren does. It is her secret that she wants to see Hux suffer after how much of a prick he’d been to her, earlier.  
Ren replies in a tone devoid of any feeling, his voice echoing in the high-ceilinged room. 

He can sense that Hux is thinking vile things about his Reya, and he subconsciously wraps a hand around the lightsaber clipped to his waist. 

If the bastard had been anyone else, he would have killed him, but Kylo knew he would catch hell if he did so to Hux, as it would make the Supreme Leader upset. 

No matter how powerful he was in the Force, Snoke needed his General. 

All Kylo can do now is get his nemesis out of here and away from Reya, for he can sense that she doesn’t like him and is uneasy in his presence. 

“Did you come here for something, General? You should’ve expected to find Rey here with me. I am the only one she knows as of yet.”

Hux motions to Rey with a disdainful look in his eye as he keeps his gaze locked on her. 

His tone is icy and his gaze is piercing as he sneers again, “I came for her, Ren. She has been summoned by the Supreme Leader.”

Kylo is not surprised to see that the Supreme Leader wants to meet his new apprentice, but he didn’t like the way Hux was treating her. Perhaps he would need to have some ‘aggressive negotiations’ with the General later, he thought. 

Taking two strides to stand in front of Hux, Ren puts power in his words as he replies,” I will take her to Snoke. She is none of your concern. You’re not needed nor wanted here, General. “

Straightening at Ren’s words, the orange-haired man replies coolly, not in the least bit affected by Kylo’s cold remarks,” So you say, Kylo Ren. So you say.”

The General looks Rey up and down, his eyes devouring her visage as she self-consciously crosses her arms over herself. 

Rey finds herself wanting to wipe that sneer off of his face with her fists, but she keeps the thought under check as she watches him disappear behind the door.

What a creep, she thought. 

The girl’s thoughts almost make Ren chuckle, for he too would like to use his fists to hurt Hux, but his Reya wouldn’t need to use such mundane means to disfigure the General.

Soon, she would learn to channel her power, for she was already experienced in the basics of combat.  
Rey notices the smirk rise on the edges of his lips, tilting her head as she inquires,” Ren, why are you smiling like that?”

Her voice breaks him out of his thoughts, and he turns to answer her, his warm eyes meeting her own.

The girl feels as though she could get lost in his dark eyes. His are so different from the cold and piercing ones she’d seen from the General. They’re beautiful, she thinks. They’re as endless as the black void of space and she feels that if she tried discovering more, she would get lost behind them.

For a moment, the two just gaze at each other until Ren breaks the silence that had fallen over them, putting a hand on her head.

“Nothing, Rey. You just looked like didn't particularly find his company as enjoyable as mine,” he admits. 

“Oi! I’ll have you know that what you said isn’t the case at all, Kylo. He just makes me feel uncomfortable.” She chides as she tries to hide the smile that is creeping along the edges of her own lips. 

How did he always know the right thing to say?

Shaking her head at the thought, the girl makes for the door, turning back to the man who stands behind her.

If she was being summoned like the orange-haired man had said, she wanted Kylo there. He was the only thing she was familiar with and his presence, she had to admit, made her feel more at ease. 

She pleads with a silent question through their joined gazes, hoping he will understand what she is asking of him. 

He seemed to understand her more than anyone after only knowing her for so short a time, so she wants him there when she meets with the leader of the First Order, or so Kylo had told her. 

Kylo is the only one she can trust right now, so she watches for any change in his expression, and soon, it does. Ren nods as he moves towards her, and the girl can’t help but to feel a wave of relief wash over her at that. 

The two walk in silence to Rey’s room where she lays her hand over the scanner, turning back to him as the door rises. He ushers Rey inside, though he doesn’t cross the threshold and tells her that he will be waiting to take her to Snoke when she is ready.

As the door closes, Rey leans back against it and can’t help but to think of him. Almost as soon as she starts thinking of him, she has a feeling in her chest. It is as if her heart is fluttering and her chest feels light. 

The girl doesn’t know what this feeling is, but she wants to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohhhhhhhhhh! Looks like Rey's getting some feelings for Kylo, huh? XD
> 
> More plot will be coming next chapter and I just can't wait to write that for you guys!
> 
> Kudos/Comments are like portions to a desert scavenger, so please let me know what you guys think of this!!
> 
> If any of you want to come talk to me, you can find me on Tumblr at reyloworld (or on Instagram at _.reylo._ ) 
> 
> Until next week, my loves!


	10. Connections

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO, MY LOVES! 
> 
> I'm late by one day this time, so I'm getting a little better with deadlines, right? Anyway, this chapter is late because I made it longer than I'd originally intended, so there's that. 
> 
> I've now seen TLJ three times and I fraking LOVE that movie with every fiber of my being, so some of the things in this chapter are inspired by certain things that happen in the film, but as always I took this my own way. 
> 
> I hope you guys like this chapter, as I edited and re-wrote it several times... XD
> 
> Anyway, are you ready?
> 
> LET'S GO!!!  
> ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Nervousness swam through Rey, her stomach churning when the HoloMessenger in her bedchamber chimed after she’d stepped out of the ‘fresher.

 

The girl had never used the device, but she knew how to work one after watching Watto sell a few to some of his patrons.

 

The girl briefly relived the memory of killing the damned fool, a sick sense of pride washing over her when she thought of the power that had so readily flowed through her to kill her prey.

 

She would always remember those disgusting yellow eyes of the creature as it died in her grip and how _intoxicating_ it had felt to use such power to end him. How _fascinating_ it had been to see the light die in those cruel eyes.

 

Thinking of Kylo’s reaction after she’d killed the Toydarian only made the girl feel more satisfied with the evil act that she had so wickedly committed, though she would never forget how proud and in awe he’d looked when she turned back to look at him.

 

The memory fades and the girl presses the button that plays Ren’s message as she lies down on the bed with a sigh.

 

Her body ached from the physical exercise that Kylo had put her through. Not that she minded, though. The girl knew that the pain would eventually strengthen her body, so she was thankful for their sparring session.

 

If her body was aching now, she could only imagine what it would be like when he finally started to show her how to use the Force again.

 

The plush duvet envelops the girl as she lays her head down and watches a blue hologram appear in the visage of Kylo Ren. When his voice sounds through the room, the girl absentmindedly traces a finger along his face.

 

He wears the same outfit he’d been wearing earlier, and the girl briefly wonders if he purposefully went without shirts to tease her. As much as she is embarrassed to admit to herself, he is well built and she very much likes the way he looks.

 

She wishes he was with her, now.

 

The girl feels lonely without him here, which is strange to admit to herself after having been on her own for so long on Jakku. On her home system, she’d never longed for anyone but the family that had so cruelly abandoned her.

 

But then again, she’d never met a man like Kylo there, she mused.

 

His gentle yet deep voice sounds, “Rey, get some rest. You’ve been through a lot, today. I have spoken with the Supreme Leader and he has told me that we can see him tomorrow, after you’ve rested.”

 

The hologram is quiet for a few seconds as she watches his expression soften.

 

The girl briefly wonders if he’s ever messaged anyone like he is with her or if he’s been so gentle and patient with another girl. He seemed so different around the First Order’s personnel and the white-armored soldiers that he called ‘stormtroopers.’

 

Shaking her head, she brushes those thoughts aside for now. She needs to focus on things other than Kylo’s past interactions with girls.

 

He continues, his voice lowering as he says, “When we go to him, you _will_ see the only living member of your family that is left. I promise you that. For now, get some sleep.”

 

With that, Kylo disappears as the blue light dies. Rey can’t help but wonder what he’s doing right now as his reassurance calms her nerves. Is he thinking of her as she is thinking of him?

 

No sooner does the question arise in the girl’s mind than does she feel a familiar pulse in her chest in tandem with something tug at her consciousness.

 

Unsure of what to do, the girl tentatively follows the invisible thread that tugs at her until she can no longer hear the sounds of TIE fighters outside or the gentle drops of water that beat against the floor of her ‘fresher.

 

She feels something… something distinctly familiar yet foreign at the same time.

 

Sitting up, the girl looks around the room for something, _anything_ , but not really knowing what to look for.

 

Rey senses that it is near her and suddenly feels almost drawn beyond her bedroom doors to the other side of her quarters where her fireplace roars. She stands, following the pull in her mind and body, wondering if Kylo is feeling this as well and when she opens her bedroom doors, he is there.

 

Instead of seeing her living room, she is met with a black void, but he is there. She can only see him amongst the dark environment around her.

 

He stands across from her, wearing nothing but loose black sleeping pants with his back to her. The girl can’t help but to stop and stare at his scarred back for a moment.

 

Long, light pink lines run across his alabaster skin from the top of his shoulder blades to the small of his back in every direction known to the girl, and she clenches her fist at the sight.

 

If anyone would know about being having scars, it was Rey, for she too had the same kind of markings on her skin. She hadn’t noticed his back when they’d been sparring, but the sight of his mangled flesh sparks a surge of anger in the girl.

 

Whoever had done that to him would pay, Rey told herself. Imagining him in pain made her angry, and the girl couldn’t deny that to herself. She had matching scars and could sympathize with the pain he’d endured even without knowing the story behind the wounds.

 

Almost as soon as her anger ignites, it is blown away when he turns to her.

 

His wild ebony hair tumbles around his face and Rey has a sudden inclination to go to him to run her hands through it.

 

Wait, why was she thinking that?

 

Shaking her head at the thoughts, the girl catches her breath as their gazes meet.

 

There is so much conflict in his eyes, and she is utterly swept up by them as he tilts his head and his eyes widen when he takes her in, almost as if he can’t believe what he’s seeing.

 

She hears his voice echo and bounce off the black void of space between them, the disbelief evident as he makes to step toward her.

 

“Rey... Why is the Force connecting us? You and I?”

 

The girl is so caught up in seeing him there that it takes her a moment to formulate a response.

 

Was this a dream? Was this all in her head, she wondered.

 

Tentatively, she answers as they both take a step toward each other, “I…I don’t know, Kylo. I hardly know anything about the Force. You know that.”

 

“That’s right… you’re not doing this. The effort would kill you,” he mumbles to himself.

 

Kylo stops, seeming to consider something as he looks around, a puzzled look crossing his expression as his eyes narrow and his brows draw closer together.

 

”Can you see my surroundings? I can’t see yours…Just you.” His voice is gentle as it sounds throughout the space, despite his obvious confusion.

 

Keeping her eyes on Ren’s, she replied almost breathless,” No, I can only see you, Kylo.”

 

Had she longed for him so much that she’d inadvertently reopened their bond? The thought made him smirk to himself as he absentmindedly runs a hand along the scar that she had given him.

 

Even now, Kylo cannot help but to admire Rey for her strength and raw power that flowed through her. He doesn’t have to ask if she’d done this, for he just knows that she has opened their bond again.

 

The girl notices him run his fingers over a scar that runs from his shoulder blade to the upper part of his face, and she wonders about that scar. It is different than the ones on his back. It’s newer, she realizes.

 

She’d been unable to keep from touching it upon their first time meeting and had wanted to know about it since then, but she didn’t want to cross any personal boundaries, so she’d left it alone.

 

The scar on his face was dissimilar than the others. It left a line over his skin rather than the healed pink patches lining his back. How was this one different than the others, she wondered, and why was she so interested in it?

 

The girl thinks about the scars lining his back again, and she can’t help but to softly ask,” Kylo, the scars...what happened?”

 

He considers her as his gaze leaves hers to look at his exposed, mangled skin, softly replying, “They’re nothing. Each and every one of them is from being part of one too many battles in this war that we’re in, Rey.”

 

Ren does not want to appear weak before her, but he cannot deny his weaknesses had not led to the wounds that now cover him.

 

 

At a loss, the girl tilts her head to take one more step closer to him as she looks up into his russet eyes, “Kylo, please tell me. I want to know more about you and this war,” she whispers.

 

Rey realizes then that she really doesn’t know anything about this man other than that he is someone who’d saved her from a life of nothingness as well as someone that she has begun to care very much for.

 

He moves close enough to the point where their chests almost touch, the girl lifting her chin as a small smile graces her expression.

 

The girl has a fleeting feeling that he is hiding something, but she also knows he has not lied to her, yet. He’s been nothing but good to her, she thinks.

 

“Please, “ she whispers,” Talk to me, Kylo.”

 

Her voice is so low that she hardly hears it, but she knows he has heeded her when she watches him drag his eyes from his shoulder to her lips.

 

Kylo wants to tell her. Badly.

 

He wants to tell her that Snoke had helped to reopen the scars on his back because he’d been too weak to fight, but he has a feeling that she won’t understand, yet.

 

Pain made him stronger, as the Supreme Leader had led him to believe. As such, when’d he’d been too weak to use the Force or yield a lightsaber, he was made stronger by Snoke’s thoughtful and powerful lessons.

 

Such were the ways of his training, and Kylo had accepted them. Vader had used pain to grow stronger, and so too had he.

 

The Supreme Leader was wise, and Kylo firmly believed that.

 

Most of the scars, except the one she had given him, stemmed from his time as a weakling among Luke’s tutelage in his pathetic Jedi Academy.

 

Ren wants tell her more about the bastard, but for now he wants her to focus on getting through her first meeting with Snoke.

 

Although, if Kylo knew anything about his master, it was that Snoke would take a firm liking towards his Reya.

 

When Ren hears her thoughts more loudly than ever, he can tell that she is feeling especially angry about the scars. In time, he would tell her more, he decides.

 

For now, he thinks it is best to tell her only of Skywalker, and so he does.

 

Lifting his head, he responds, “I was weak, Rey. In our world, only the strong can survive.”

 

Rey knows he has something he wants to say to her, but she won’t press him. She understands if he has things he doesn’t want to tell her just yet.

Besides, he’d only just met her, after all, she muses.

 

She waits for him to continue as she sees his resolve change in his expression.

 

“I will tell you more, soon, but all I can say right now is that the scars on my back are reminders of my time training under a man called Luke Skywalker.”

 

Her eyes widen at his admission, for she cannot believe what he’s just said.

 

Shocked, she lifts her head toward him, “Luke Skywalker? I thought he was a myth,” she exclaimed.

 

Shaking his head at the girl, his silken voice promised her, “He’s no myth, Rey. Soon, enough, you’ll learn more about him, the Force and me.”

 

Luke Skywalker was a legend, she had thought, but if he had done what Ren said he had, she no longer had any admiration or respect for him as she once did.

 

How could anyone do such a thing to Kylo?

 

Suddenly the girl feels that same power begin to flow through her as a fresh surge of anger swells at his admission.

 

Ren watches the girl’s face contort to once of shock to one of anger as her brows draw closer together and her hand balls itself into a fist.

 

It fills him with such a strong sense of emotion when he sees her react the way she does at his wounds.

 

No one has ever shown any sign of care for him and to watch the girl’s emotions so readily play through her… it makes him feel as though a weight has been lifted from his chest.

 

He hadn’t been lying to her about Skywalker. He never had lied and would not make a habit of it especially now, he thought.

 

His Reya was coming back to him after having left him alone for so long, and he can’t help but to watch, mesmerized, as she lifts a hand toward him.

 

The girl doesn’t know what is real and what isn’t, but without thinking, she slowly lifts a hand that had been resting at her side, hoping for him to take it.

 

She’d never given her hand to anyone, but she is so overwhelmed by compassion for the man that stands before her that she cannot find it within herself to keep away from him.

 

He’s just admitted something very personal, and the girl can see that in the conflict that stirs in his eyes as he moves nearer to her.

 

His line of vision shifts from her own to her hand as he watches her lift her hand in front of her chest, spreading her fingers as her eyes become glassy.

 

When the tears begin to trickle down her freckled face, Ren is hit with a pang of compassion for her. He really wasn‘t worthy of her.

 

The notion that she cared so deeply about simple wounds in spite of everything warmed his black heart, and he in kind lifts one arm in front of his chest so that their hands nearly touch.

 

“You’re not alone,” he says warmly.

 

“Neither are you,” she replies with a smile as she wipes away a tear with her other hand.

 

Ren stares into her eyes as their hands gradually, though slowly, move closer until finally they touch.

 

At the contact, they each inhale deeply as a vision plays through each of their minds.

 

_Images of entangled bodies and sounds of sin are the first to play through it all. Alabaster skin against golden, sun-kissed skin moves in perfect synchronization with one another as Rey and Kylo perform the most intimate of acts on each other._

_When she breathes his name, the vision shifts to the two of them in some underground cave, strange white crystals around them as Kylo sits in front of Rey and watches her adoringly as she holds a crystal of her own in her hands while speaking an incantation._

_Shifting once more, Rey and Kylo stand together with a throne behind them, their hands intertwined as they each pull lightsabers from their belts, the white armored soldiers and others bowing before the two._

 

When the vision ends, Rey is back in her room, standing in front of her crackling fireplace with nothing but herself as she folds her arms around herself. What did this mean, she wondered. Had Kylo seen it, too?

 

The questions burn in the girl’s mind and she can’t keep herself from running from her rooms and pounding on his door. She needed to see something that was real. She needed to see something that wasn’t a figment of her mind. Or had it been?

 

The girl needs answers, and when his door rises, the girl puts a hand to her head, shaking it as she says,” Kylo, I’m sorry to wake you up like thi-“

 

“You didn’t wake me up, Rey. Your presence is most welcome,” he replies warmly.

 

The girl looks around to make sure they are alone; this is a conversation she wants to be kept between them. He is the only one who understands her as of yet.

 

She can see understanding in his eyes when her gaze shifts to meet his.

 

Then she sees it. Again. He wears the same pants from whatever she’d just experienced and his hair is mused as if he had been running his hands through it. When she notices his gaze shift from her eyes down the rest of her body and quickly move back up, her cheeks begin to burn.

 

In her impulsiveness, she’d completely forgotten that all she wore was a thin black breast band and black satin shorts that were cut so low that her ass peeked out.

 

“Um…. I should’ve just messaged you or something… I had this weird thing happen to me just now,” she stammers.

 

What a fool, she chastises herself. How had she not noticed her attire in her haste to see him?

 

Across from her, Ren bites his lip to keep the grin from spreading as his Reya becomes so flustered in front him. Her brashness was something that had always been a part of her, and he can’t help but to think of cute she looks.  


Despite it all, he can sense the confusion he himself was feeling, for he’d just seen her in some kind of alternate reality.

 

Was this part of their Force-Bond? He had a feeling that it was.

 

The thoughts are swept away when he watches the girl, unsuccessfully, try to cover herself by crossing her arms over her lithe body. The action only pushes her breasts up and he steals a glance before returning to her eyes.

 

Oh, Reya, how adorable you are, he muses.

 

Her light voice pervades the small space between them, a sense of surprise and disbelief laced in her tone as she admits, “Kylo, I saw something, just now. Something that should’ve been, well…”

 

“Something that should have been impossible yet you saw it anyway?”

 

Furrowing her brows at him, she questions, “Wait…how did you know that?”

 

The girl takes a step closer, her curiousness so evident in her eyes as she looks up him, “Did you see it, too?”

 

He nods, and her beautiful brown eyes widen as she pulls her arms closer around herself.

 

Ren is suddenly hit with the desire to enfold her in his own arms and feel her warmth, but he knows he cannot do that, now. He wants her to take things at her own pace, even if that meant with him.

 

“So, was that real?”

 

“I don’t know, yet, Rey. All I know is that I saw you, just now. You were there, but not really,” he confesses.

 

Putting a hand to her temple with a sigh, the girl whispers, “I don’t know what’s happening to me, Kylo. Is something wrong with me?”

 

She is so confused, and he senses that, though he knows if anyone can help her, it is he.

 

Laying an ungloved hand on her shoulder, he gently answers, “No, Rey. Nothing is wrong with you. You just have a gift that many others do not. You, like me, are very powerful and because of that, you are going to see, feel and experience things no normal person will.”

 

Sighing, the girl looks down, her voice low so that only he can hear it,” So there is something wrong with me.”

 

She sounds so defeated that Ren cannot help himself when he takes his hand under chin, lifting it as he warmly pleads,” Look at me, Rey. Please.”

 

At his words the girl’s eyes meet his, and his soft, silken voice sounds.

 

“Rey, don’t ever think of yourself as inferior to anything or anyone else. You may think there is something wrong with you, but I do not,” he admits.

 

Watching her look so intently at him, he hoped that what he was saying was reassuring her as he continued, “Everything that has been happening to you is happening for a reason. You are special, and yes, that makes you different from others, but it’s so much bigger than that. You are _extraordinary.”_

The girl’s arms loosen around herself as she listens to him, her insecurity slowly dying as he tries so hard to make her feel better.

 

She can’t help but to admit herself that she is glad that he found her. Never before had anyone spoken so warmly to her and simply just been there when she needed them. She lets him continue as he leans in to her, “What you just saw stems from your power with the Force, Rey. You are untrained but much stronger than you know.”

 

The girl blinks at his words, taken aback by his kindness and understanding. Ren senses this, easing back when he realizes he’d been edging closer to the girl in his attempts to reassure her.

 

A comfortable silence falls between the two as Ren steps out of his chambers, motioning Rey towards her own as he places a hand on the small of her back. At his touch, the girl feels coolness spread where his skin meets hers, looking back at him as her door opens.

 

For the first time in her life, someone is there for her when she needs them, she realizes. She wants show him how appreciative of him that she is, but she doesn’t know how.

 

People didn’t show appreciation on Jakku. They got compensated for finding and selling things. Such was the way of life on her home system. But when she turns around to face him, she gets a strange idea and acts on it before she has time to change her mind.

 

Lifting herself up onto her toes, the girl presses her forehead against his, closing her eyes as she gently utters, “Thank you.”

 

Kylo lets her move close to him, not sure what she is trying to do, but when she leans her head against his, all he can do is stare at her as he watches her eyes close. For the second time now, he is at a loss as to her sudden decision to touch him, but he is more than happy to be so close with her once again.

 

He senses calmness and happiness emanate from the girl, and he is eased at this. He’d helped to placate her, and he is glad for it. Her skin feels so warm against his, and he savors the feel of her until she finally steps back after thanking him.

 

He nods, stepping back towards his rooms. When he crosses the short distance and his door begins to close, he feels her gaze before her sees it, slowly turning to find looking at him.

 

“Tomorrow I’ll learn more about all of this when I see my family?” The girl questions as she calls out to him.

 

“Tomorrow, my dear girl,” He promises.

 

His door closes at the same time hers does, and then he is gone.

Had it all been a dream? The question is on her mind as she lies down on her bed once more, her heart racing as she thinks about what it could mean for her and Kylo.

 

She would be lying to herself if she didn’t admit that she wanted the latter half of the vision to come to fruition, but she can’t help but to think it had all been a dream and be embarrassed about the first part of it.

 

Sleep does not come until the early hours of the morning for either of them.

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... things are looking great to Rey, hmm? 
> 
> We shall see what happens next chapter, but for now I hope you guys enjoyed this!
> 
> Oh, and I'd love to know what you guys thought of TLJ, so thoughts on that would be awesome!
> 
> Comments/Kudos are like portions to a desert scavenger, so PLEASE let me know what you guys think about my fic! They mean more to me than you guys know !! :)
> 
> If you guys have questions for me or just want to chat with me, you can find me on Tumblr at reyloworld (or on Instagram at _.reylo._ ) 
> 
> Don't be afraid to talk to me, my loves. I am always happy to converse with my readers!


	11. Summoned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my loves! 
> 
> I would have finally been on time with this update, but something happened and I just couldn't get around to it last night... Anyhow, I genuinely hope you all had pleasant and fun-filled holidays with those you hold dearest. These times of the year are those where we really reflect on and appreciate what our loved ones mean to us, and I hope you guys got to spend your time with those you care about!
> 
> On another note, this chapter is my longest to date at 5400+ words, which is twenty pages worth of writing! I had a whole other sequence I wanted to add to this chapter, but it would've probably put this already long update even longer at more than 6500+ words, so I have decided to have the "darker" part next chapter. 
> 
> This chapter is where my fic will be begin to live up to it's category as a "dark!reylo" fic, so I hope I do it justice. 
> 
> Oh, and one more thing! For those of you who like visuals on clothing, I have included the link to an outfit that is similar to the one I had in my head for Rey in this chapter! 
> 
> https://chaseblood.deviantart.com/art/Dark-Rey-604339635
> 
> Are you guys ready? 
> 
> Let's go! :D
> 
> ________________________________________________________________________________________________

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Rey wakes within the early hours of the next day cycle, unable to find solace in her slumber.

 

She’d tried to sleep. Oh, how she’d tried.

 

The girl had been awake nearly all night, her thoughts consumed by the odd connection she’d had with Kylo as well as her growing nervousness to meet the leader of the First Order.

 

Kylo had not told her much about the man, for she’d barely even managed to get the name of Ren’s master from him.

 

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she rises and finds herself in her closet. What did one wear to meet the leader of the First Order?

 

She walks the length of the room, her eyes moving from the many shelves to the racks lining the walls as she trails a hand along the many pieces of clothing that hang in the closet.

 

Rey of Jakku has never been to a formal occasion, before, and so naturally did not know the proper ways of attire for such an event. She thinks of Kylo and what he would like as her hand catches on something and she stops at a black piece of clothing that looks like a tunic at first, but upon further inspection is much more complex.

 

The girl can’t help but to run her hands over the soft velvety material as she wanders into her ‘fresher to put the piece of clothing on.

 

She unlatches the back of the part where her neck will be as she pulls it over her head since there are no zippers that she can see, moving the strange article of clothing down over herself. Whatever she wears is smooth against her skin and despite it being fitted on her chest, it allows for easy movement.

 

When Rey looks into the mirror before her, she stares at her reflection as she releases a breath.

 

The girl standing before her wears a cross between a dress, jumpsuit and tunic. It is colored a beautiful shade of black that reminds her of the dark void of space outside of her viewport. It is fitted from her chest to the top of her thighs and accentuates each and every one of her curves as she finishes wriggling her arms into the thin and tight sleeves that encase her arms all the way down to her wrists.

 

There is a circular cutout in the top where her breasts peek out and the sleeves of the dress are plain but tight on her arms. They stop just below her shoulders to showcase the golden skin there as they trail upward to connect to the thin strap of crimson colored shimmersilk that encircles her neck.

 

Connecting the top of the dress to the bottom half is a thick strap of the same cloth that begins below her left breast and runs diagonally along her abdomen until it ends above her right hipbone, showcasing the skin there.

 

Below that, the dress is fitted to her body until it meets her upper thighs, for the bottom half of the dress consists of two pieces of the velvety cloth that split and drape along the front and back of her, spanning the length to her ankles.

 

Her sides were bare once past her upper thighs.

 

The girl did have to admit to herself that she felt a little self-conscious with the skin that was showing, but she couldn’t bring herself to change.

 

The only reason the girl had been so conservative with her attire on Jakku was because of how hot the days were and how cold the nights were on that sad excuse for a system, she muses.

 

 

Also, Kylo had seen her in less when they’d trained and Watto had once had her wearing something showing much more than this.

 

Most of the reason why she kept the dress on now was because she felt like since she was starting over here, she may as well change up her dressing and styling habits as well. Besides, wasn’t this type of attire the standard for women in the First Order? The girl assumed as such, for it _had_ been in her wardrobe, after all.

 

With a sigh, the girl wraps her hair into a single bun at the crown of her head.

 

Old habits would need to die for her to move on, she thinks.

 

Turning away from the mirror, she grabs the black leather arm bracers that she’d worn the previous day cycle, tying them around the back of her wrists when she hears a knock on her door. The girl knows who it is before she opens the door, a small smile coming to her face as she gestures for Kylo to come in.

 

Ren’s presence is already easing her anxiety, and she is glad for it.

 

His eyes widen as he looks at her black-clad form, his jaw slightly dropping as he stammers, “Rey…you look…”

 

“Odd?” She asks with playfulness in her tone.

 

She is utterly amused as she tries, unsuccessfully, to stifle her chuckle as she walks to the marble island next to the door to prop her leg onto one of the chairs, giving him a view of her tanned leg as she laces the black combat boots up to the middle of her shins.

 

She watches him almost drop the damned helmet onto the floor as he looks at her. Why did he have to wear that stupid thing, she wonders. Still, she finds herself enjoying the attention.

 

It takes Ren a moment to process everything when he catches sight of her.

 

She has clothed herself in black, once more, and he cannot take his eyes off of her as he watches her tie her boots together.

 

“Beautiful,” he breathes.

 

She looks up, a question in her eyes as she finishes putting her other boot on. Her cheeks begin to color when she notices how intense his gaze is on her. She hadn’t been expecting the outfit to render _this_ reaction.

 

“You look…beautiful,” he finishes.

 

The girl rises to walk toward him, her gaze piercing his as she warmly replies with a smile, “Thank you.”

 

No one has ever told her that she is beautiful, save for the junk bosses on Jakku and the patrons that would look at her as if she were some kind of meal on Tatooine. The girl shakes her head as she looks into his warm russet eyes. They had wanted her for her body. Kylo just wanted….what did he want from her?

 

He makes to move toward her, holding his arm out as he flicks his chin toward the door, “Shall we?”

 

The girl takes his arm, releasing a shaky breath as he feels her fingers shake against him.

 

So transfixed by the dark beauty that had stood before him, he’d neglected to think about her emotions and what she might be going through.

 

He chastises himself for doing so. Her wellbeing was more important, and he should have known she would be feeling anxious at the prospect of what was about to happen. Kylo wishes he knew how to better use their bond in the Force, but he resolves to help her through this uncertainty. He had felt this way, too, though it had been so long ago.

 

Ren watches her smile fade as she looks to the floor, giving her arm a gentle squeeze as he moves in front of her.

 

“Hey,” he presses in a warm tone,” tell me what’s on your mind.”

 

He already knows what troubles her as she projects her thoughts so loudly, but he thinks that if she speaks what is on her mind, perhaps that would help to ease the anxiety he sensed she was feeling. If it were him, he’d either destroy or kill something, but he doesn’t think his methods of releasing his emotions would work for her, oddly enough.

 

The girl makes no effort to move or speak as she continues to look around the room, and he senses her unease as clearly as if it were his own. He needs to fix this, for Lord Ren cannot stand to see his Reya in such a state.

 

“You were so excited at the prospective of meeting your family a few days ago… What happened, Rey?” He lightly asks.

 

He watches her look everywhere but him, her grip growing tighter on his arm as she considers him.

 

After a few moments, the girl speaks.

 

“I just am worried, I guess. I’m worried that your leader will disregard me and that I won’t get to see my family,” she admits with a sigh.

 

Ren moves the arm she is not holding to take her other hand as he utters her name.

 

“Rey.”

 

His touch calms her, yet it makes her chest feel light as she takes a deep breath. Her lids rise to reveal her beautiful hazel eyes, and it is difficult for Kylo not to get lost in them.

 

She is so beautiful, he thinks. Black and red really does become her.

 

“As I said last night, Rey, you are special. Do you remember me telling you that?” He questions.

 

When she nods, he continues, “The Supreme Leader is wise, Rey. He senses your power as he once sensed mine before he found me, and he too wishes to reunite you with your family.” He softly tells her as he takes a step closer to her.

 

The girl heeds him, her nervousness slowly melting away at his touch and words of reassurance. He seemed to have this effect on her whenever she was feeling especially uneasy, she muses. She is glad for it, though.

 

It shows her that he cares, and that is more than she can say about anyone else that has ever been in her life. His silken voice sounds again as she squeezes his hand in kind.

 

“You can do this, Rey. I know you can. I will be there for you, should you need me,” He reassures her with a squeeze of her hand.

 

“But what if they don’t like-“

 

She is silenced when he releases her hand to put a finger to her lips and her hand immediately feels cold and empty in its absence.

 

“You came all this way to see the last of your family. Do you really think that they would dislike you? Whoever waits for you with my master most definitely wants to meet you.” He tells her as he leans closer to her.

 

Deep down, the girl knows he is right. She knows that the only family she has left is waiting eagerly to see her. It was what she had come here for, right?

 

The hand that grips Ren’s arm like a vice slowly loosens as Ren pulls the hand that had been in front of her away. After a few moments, the girl speaks,” I should be thanking you, Kylo, but I feel like all I’ve been these last few days is an emotional drain to you. I’m sorry for that.”

 

“You’re not, Rey. You never have been and never will. I know you may not think it, but I enjoy my time with you,” he confesses.

 

When she says those words, the last of her apprehension burns away. She can tell he means them, for his eyes say it all as he speaks.

 

If spending almost all of her life on Jakku had taught her anything, it was to trust her instincts, and her instincts were telling her to trust Kylo.

 

And so she did.

 

She realizes that she doesn’t have much to worry about with Snoke, then. If Kylo wasn’t worried, why should she be?

 

Still she can’t ease the nervous feeling that settles in the pit of her stomach when she thinks about the leader of First Order.

 

Resolved to easing her anxieties, Ren sends a soothing wave through the Force to her, hoping it will help. The girl releases a deep breath, her mind temporarily free of worry.

 

Ren moves to stand at her side, gesturing toward the door as he encourages her to move,” Are you ready?”

 

Her head turns so her gaze meets his and with a nod, “Yes, I’m ready now,” she declares.

 

The pair walk toward the door in silence toward the lift, but not before Ren separates from her to put his gnarled mask on. They move past the stormtroopers that stand near their rooms to a different elevator than they’d taken on their way up, Ren pushing a button as they wait.

 

Rey furtively casts a glance toward Ren and she thinks she can make out his beautiful russet eyes through his visor, but she’s probably just imagining things.

 

The doors open and then the two step inside as Ren pushes another button for the third level of the ship.

 

“Everything is going to be fine, Rey. You can do this,” his monotone, robotic voice encourages as the lift begins to move downwards.

 

Her apprehension is beginning to return to her as he watches her start to tremble in front of him. To see her like this hurts him, but he doesn’t know what to say. He’d never brought a girl to his master, before. Especially not one that Kylo happened to care very much for. Especially not one that was possibly more powerful in the darkside than even Snoke himself.

 

He is about to speak when she turns around, her eyes searing through his visor at him.

 

“I can do this. I know I can do this,” she quietly tells herself than for Ren, but he doesn’t mind.

 

Laying a gloved hand over her arm and gently rubbing it, he nods as he says,” Yes, you can. Now, go on. They’re waiting for you.”

 

The girl gives him a small smile before turning back, her feet finally moving as the doors part to reveal a room almost entirely draped in bright red.

 

The two move slowly across the black lacquered floor towards a throne where a man sits in silence as Kylo moves a hand to the small of her back, encouraging the girl to keep going. His touch is all the girl needs to continue towards the other end of the room, for it calms her.

 

Moving closer, Rey sees that it is some kind of humanoid alien who sits in the throne, a golden tunic wrapped around him. His skin is wrinkled and mangled, the pinkish color of it contrasting the dark spaces where skin has been torn or cut away all over his body.

 

He is not alone as far as Rey can see, for there are guards who wear red standing by each wall.

 

Rey should’ve been afraid, but she wasn’t. Her fear and anxiousness were quick to melt away as Ren’s hand moved up and down the small of her back when he encouraged her to move forward until the two Force-Sensitives stopped a few feet from the Supreme Leader.

 

Kylo Ren was with her, and his touches were a reminder that she was not alone in this. It gave the girl strength she hadn't known she could get from him.

 

She doesn’t know what to say to the creature, so silence reigns as the girl sneaks a glance at Kylo.

 

Snoke is the first to speak as he stands from the throne, and Rey watches as Kylo bends to his knees behind her to bow to the creature.

 

The action makes her tilt her head at Ren, not understanding why he’d done it. Her gaze is drawn away from him when she notices the humanoid man make to move toward her.

 

“Ah…So this is the esteemed Rey of Jakku….we’ve heard so much about,” his voice rasps as he continues,” Well done, my apprentice…Well done.”

 

Kylo kept his mind clear of any and all thoughts and emotions, hoping that Snoke would not see all that had happened with Rey and how much she was coming to mean to him. Such thoughts his master would no doubt link to weakness.

 

The girl keeps her eyes on the floor as Snoke hobbles toward her, looking her up and down. All she can do is remain still as his eyes rack her body. He is looking everywhere as Rey self-consciously shifts, quickly regretting her decision to show so much skin. She needs to move his attention elsewhere, for he is making her feel uncomfortable.

 

“You are the great Supreme Leader Snoke, are you not? Kylo has not told me very much about you,” she matter-of-factly states as he begins to circle her like some kind of vulture.

 

A sick bout of laughter echoes through the room at that, causing chills to run over the girl’s skin. It was becoming more and more difficult to keep her composure the longer that he circled her. She doesn’t feel Kylo’s hand on her anymore, for he now bows before the humanoid man.

 

Snoke’s voice is flat as he moves to stand in front of her,” I don’t deny that I wasn’t…expecting that from him. After all…It was I who told him to keep such details surrounding me… a secret.” He confesses.

 

The girl wants to shrink before his intense gaze, but she does not want to appear weak before Kylo. She is from Jakku, and she does not cower like a frightened child over some man. Especially not one that looked like a pink mess of wrinkles thrown over some bones.

 

So, she does not yield.

 

Moving her eyes from the floor to Snoke’s icy blue ones she angles her head to the side as she narrows her eyes at him,” Why keep your identity from me? What purpose could that serve?” She asks in a straightforward manner.

 

Taking a step closer, he replies. He is intrigued about this girl that Ren has brought to him. She has not yet shown any fear towards him and he likes how direct she is with her statements.

 

“Because, my dear… I thought it would be more…amusing to have you meet me through…unbiased pretenses. After all…I’ve heard so much about you...from my devoted apprentice.”

 

The term of endearment makes her skin crawl. This creature had not earned the right to call her that.

 

The humanoid moves back toward his throne, keeping his eyes on Rey as he sits. He hears her thoughts so clearly, nearly smirking at the response to his words.

 

This girl had fierceness in her that he liked. It had been so long since he’d heard a girl think about him….

Snoke changes the subject, noticing Ren ball a hand into a fist as he peers at his protégé from behind the girl,” I would like to know…more about you, Rey. You’ve caught the attention of my young apprentice, and I would like to know…what about you makes you special,” the humanoid inquires.

 

The girl buries the unease that nips at her, furtively glancing at Kylo’s submissive form. It bothered her to see him in such a state before his master.

 

Kylo was such an imposing man, she thought. For him to be this way to Snoke must’ve meant that he possessed more power even than Kylo.

 

Either that, or he’d been molded to be submissive.

 

The fact should’ve caused fear to stir within her. Instead she only felt her determination rise. She will not bow before anyone, much less allow Kylo to be put down like he is.

 

“I am no one.”

 

Meeting Snoke’s eyes once more, she takes a small step toward him as she speaks again, wanting to change the subject.

 

“You wanted me to learn of you? Tell me, then. Tell me about the great Supreme Leader Snoke, for Kylo has been so kind to tell me about the Order,” she bluntly asks.

 

Curling his fingers around the arms of his throne, he gruffly snickers, “I am…known as the Supreme Leader to all of my subordinates, Rey, but those I am closest with…which would be you and Kylo Ren…may call me Snoke.”

 

The girl listens to him, trying to keep herself under control through his disturbing stare by counting her breaths.

 

He continues,” I…have served the First Order for…almost thirty years. I founded it to fight back against those who would oppose democracy and order after my parents and wife…were murdered by Luke Skywalker and a group calling themselves the Resistance.”

 

Her eyes widen as she nearly jumps at the name of the legendary Jedi.

 

Luke Skywalker had taken the lives of Snoke’s family?

 

Her blood boils when she remembers how Kylo had told her of his scars and how Luke had been the one to give them to him. Such a man was not worthy of the titles and praise that he’d earned among the inhabitants on her home system, she thinks.

 

Rey does not know the humanoid creature that has the marks of war cut into his skin, but she cannot help to feel sympathetic to him as she murmurs,” I’m sorry. I know what it’s like to lose a family.”

 

Ren’s helmet begins to feel heavy as he listens to the Supreme Leader admit something that had taken him nearly twenty years to reveal to Kylo. It also unsettles him how gentle is being to Rey. The Supreme Leader was never _gentle_ unless he wanted something. Badly.

 

Snoke must have taken a liking to Reya after all to tell her that so easily, Ren thought. It unsettled him how gentle Snoke was being with Reya, but all he could do was watch as the two continued to converse.

 

He was a spectator in all this. It is not his place to say anything.

 

Snoke sits back in his throne, watching the girl with interest,” Such is the way of war…Rey. Your parents were caught in it, too, and were killed by Luke Skywalker and his rebellious group, the Resistance,” he bluntly tells her.

 

She blinks, not wanting to believe what he has just told her.

 

There is so much to take in, and the girl finds the strength in her legs leaves her as she falls to the ground to her hands and knees.

 

She screws her eyes shut, shaking her head as she angrily screams, “NO!”

 

Rey doesn’t want to believe this. It hurts her to think that they’d been innocent and had been killed for it. The room begins to shake as the girl continues to scream in her sadness and anger.

 

Luke would pay for this, she promised herself. She would never stop trying to find him and kill him for what he’d done. She needed to get revenge for her parents. So blinded in her emotions, she does not notice the small cracks that open from the ceiling and walls, snaking along as the praetorian guards take out their weapons.

 

Snoke holds out a hand, causing the guards to put their weapons away as he rises yet again from his throne.

 

His tone is tone is aggressive and stern as he orders, “Kylo, take that thing off.”

 

Ren complies, his helmet coming off with a pneumatic hiss as Snoke hoarsely continues,” Now, show me you can tame her. I cannot help her find her last family member unless she is more…controlled.”

 

No sooner does the order leave his master's throat than does he move to crouch before Rey. He couldn't bear to see her so upset. He would help her though this. He would help her through anything. 

 

Rey does not hear him in her rage and sadness. So consumed by her emotions, she hears nothing but her own screams until she feels warm fingers brush along her cheek.

 

When she looks up, Kylo is there. He is kneeling in front of her with a warm look in his eyes, mouthing something.

 

_“I’m here, Rey. It will be alright.”_

 

The words sound in her mind at the same time he words them as he gently brushes the tears from her cheek with his ungloved thumbs.

 

“ _Snoke told you that your parents are gone, but that doesn’t mean your family is. There is still someone that’s alive, in a sense. Someone who has the same power as you do,’_ Kylo softly tells her in her mind.

 

She is caught in his russet eyes as his touches calm her aching heart. The room stops shaking and the fissures opening along the walls soon cease to move as he runs his fingers over her cheeks.

 

The girl releases a shaky breath, falling back on her knees to look from Kylo’s understanding eyes to Snoke’s piercing ones. She feels like she’s being examined under his glare, and she can’t help but to clear her throat as she wipes at the last of her tears and looks back to Kylo.

 

The girl finds comfort in his touch and gaze, and she is glad that he is here with her.

 

Above them, Snoke watches in fascination as his apprentice is so quick to calm the girl. Their connection must have been stronger than he’d thought.

 

He turns, taking a step or so away from the two until his voice rasps,” Well done, my apprentice. Well done.”

 

The two look from each other to the humanoid, Ren moving his hand over hers as she turns her hand to thread her fingers through his.

 

“As for you, Rey…I’m not surprised you acted the way you did, considering your…natural tendencies,” he states as he looks back at the girl,” While your parents may be gone, there is still someone who is alive in context of the word,” he points out.

 

The girl’s brows furrow, not understanding what he meant.

 

“I- I don’t really see what you mean by that,” she replies with a shaky breath as Kylo pulls her up to stand with him.

 

Snoke gives her a knowing look before continuing,” Of course you wouldn’t, child. You know nothing of your family or the Force.”

 

Rey tilts her head, at a loss when the humanoid points behind her.

 

She turns, gasping at the sight.

 

Before her stands a figure who is cloaked in black, but she can see through him. She thinks at first that it is a hologram of someone, but the figure slowly flits forward until it stops just a foot or so away from her.

 

“Are you real? Can you see me?” She quizzically implores as she passes a hand through the figure.

 

The entity nods, moving his hood down so she can see his face. Golden eyes greet her, set against pale, wrinkled skin as the figure speaks,” Yes, I am real, child. My name is-“

 

“Palpatine. Your name is Sheev Palpatine,” she finishes.

 

How the girl had known that, she didn’t know, but her gut told her that she was related to him. She felt an undeniable connection as he moved closer. 

 

“Good, Reya. Very good. You remember my name after all this time. Most impressive, my granddaughter,” he says with a nod of approval.

 

The girl takes him in, questions flooding through her mind.

 

“Where have you been all this time?”

 

“I became one with the Force, Rey. I was only able to come back like this once your power awakened.”

 

She arches a brow, giving him a questioning look as he continues,” I was very powerful in the Force, my dear girl, but death is inevitable and thus when I was murdered, I relinquished myself to it.”

 

Anger coils within her at the mention of his murder, and she wonders if Luke had killed her grandfather, too.

 

“I had hoped to be summoned when your parents came of age, but my power and affinity for the Force passed over them and instead moved entirely on into you.” He finishes.

 

The girl is hit with a burning desire to avenge him and her parents, for she assumes he must be the last of her family.

 

“Who killed you? How can I find-“

 

He holds out a hand as the girl’s words die in her throat.

 

“You are exactly where you need to be right now, my darling granddaughter. I am truly proud of you for being so strong,” he lays a ghostly hand over cheek,” and I can’t wait to watch you grow stronger in the Force,” he tells her as be begins to back away.

 

She takes a step after him, not wanting him to go as she pleads,” Don’t leave me so soon, grandfather! You’re all I have left!”

 

“You have Kylo Ren, my dear girl. Trust in him, for I can see he cares deeply for you,” he loudly proclaims.

 

The girl’s cheeks color at that. How had he known?

 

Palpatine’s eyes flit from hers to Kylo’s widened ones at the same time Snoke looks at his apprentice.

 

It was Palpatine’s secret that he wanted her to embrace the darkness and find a mate in Kylo Ren, for the boy carried powerful blood within his veins.

 

If his granddaughter joined the spawn of Darth Vader, they would be unstoppable, he mused.

 

Not knowing what to do, Rey moves her gaze to Kylo, catching his russet eyes when she feels a familiar pulse in her chest. Kylo dips his head in deference to her and she doesn’t know what he means by it.

 

Ren should’ve known she was _his_ descendant. No other person would have had such a strong Force-Signature. No other person would have called to him so strongly or been able to summon his grandfather’s own lightsaber with such ease.

 

Her grandfather had been the master to his grandfather, and so it only made sense that she and he had formed such a strong connection in the Force.

 

The girl looks back to the fading form of her grandfather, extending a hand toward him as she listens to him utter,” I have been with you since your power awakened, my child. Even still, my time in this world is limited. You will be able to summon me again, but only if you grow strong in the Force,” he promised.

 

With that, his form completely fades. Rey watches until she can no longer feel his presence, turning back to find the humanoid man stalk toward her.

 

The girl needed answers. She’d thought she would get clarity here, but now she finds she only has more questions about her family and purpose.

 

Rey sounds almost demanding as she points to where her grandfather had been standing moments before, “What was that?”

 

Kylo is taken aback by how his Reya carries herself under the pressure of his master. She has been direct and blunt with Snoke, and Ren knows that the Supreme Leader will like that about her. He also couldn’t deny how strong she was with her emotions and power. She truly was amazing.

 

Kylo Ren is utterly caught in her web, he realizes as he gives her an adoring look when she makes to walk toward him.

 

The humanoid considers the girl, moving a hardened glare at Ren as he looks into his apprentice’s mind to see his admiration for the girl. Still his apprentice yearns for the desert dweller. He sees their connection in the Force and visions they’d had together last night.

 

A wicked grin threatens to edge across the humanoid’s gnarled face, for his apprentice has fallen so very hard for the girl. He could exploit that weakness and use that on his young protégé. It opened so many new routes to get his apprentice to bend to his will.

 

Snoke now had a little game that he wanted to play with Ren and his pet as he watches the two gaze at each other. 

 

Torturing and making Kylo suffer brought so much amusement to his life, and he was thankful the girl had him wrapped around her little fingers. She would become another piece in this game that could be used, he mused. 

 

 Unfurling a hand and crooking a skeletal finger toward Rey, he orders,” Come here, girl. I find your presence… _enticing_ ,” he darkly demands.

 

Snoke was fascinated by how the girl had Ren so allured to her, and he took a sick pleasure in seeing how powerless his apprentice would be while he had some fun with the boy’s little pet.

 

She looks to Kylo, not understanding what’s happening as Snoke moves to stand between her and Kylo and before she has time to react, he presses his cold fingers to temples, sighing as the girl’s confused eyes close and her rigid stance eases.

 

“I have been rather… _gracious_ in allowing you to meet your grandfather, dear girl, so now…”

 

Kylo watches in horror as the humanoid’s lips rise in a wicked grin while the girl drops to her knees before him, moaning as his skeletal fingers trail down her face.

 

"…Now, you will _entertain_ me,” he haughtily declares. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooooohhh, so Snoke likes Rey FAR more than Kylo would've expected, huh? 
> 
> My next chapter will begin where this leaves off, as I had an entire other sequence I had originally planned for this chapter but couldn't fit because of how long it is!
> 
> Comments/Kudos are like portions to a desert scavenger, so please let me know what you guys think of my work! It means the world to me when I get those from you guys and I can't thank you all enough for all the wonderful feedback I've already gotten from you wonderful people!
> 
> If you would like to contact me with questions about this work, don't be afraid to come talk to me at reyloworld over on Tumblr or at _.reylo._ over on Instagram! 
> 
> Until next week, my loves!


	12. Dark Dalliances

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my loves! It's been awhile (again) and I apologize for the odd update schedule... I will try to get back on track to have one update per week, though those updates will likely be smaller in regard to length of your chapters. 
> 
> Lots of stuff was going on after my last update and I just didn't have time to write, despite how much I wanted to. Again, I'm sorry for that!
> 
> Being an English major at college is quite a bit of work, so I have less time to write. This isn't an excuse, I'm just letting you guys know that chapters from here on out probably won't be this long, as this one is around 4700 words. 
> 
> Anyway, I've been anxious to return to my dark side babies, so I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as I did while writing it! 
> 
> Before we can proceed to this chapter, though, I would like to give a warning, as this chapter contains heavy sexual content and themes such as manipulation and coercion (on Snoke's behalf). If anyone is triggered by these things, please don't read this, as I don't want to make anyone feel uncomfortable. 
> 
> My fic is, in its base label, is dark!reylo, so there are going to be some dark things up ahead. I just needed to remind you guys in case some of the things I write about make you feel a way that you don't like. You are free to leave it at any time, as I understand if something is bothering you. 
> 
> In any case, I really hope you guys like this chapter, as I spent so much time rewriting and editing it!
> 
> Are you ready??
> 
> Here we go!  
> ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

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Anger boiled in Kylo Ren’s blood as he watched his master drag his aged fingertips across the exposed skin of Rey’s chest, eliciting lustful moans from the girl as she tipped her head back.

 

The humanoid didn’t have to search the boy’s mind to know he was being affected by this little game, for he could feel the hot anger that began to sidle within him the longer that he touched the girl.

 

It was amusing to the Supreme Leader to see his young protégé in such a state. He’d never seen Kylo become so flustered in so short a time, before. Never seen his anger manifest so quickly.

 

Chortling at the fact, Snoke keeps his eyes on the girl who kneels before him,“Your rage will do nothing to stop me from touching your precious little desert rat, spawn of Han Solo.”

 

Tearing his gaze from Rey towards his master, Ren’s eyes widen at the mention of his father. For Snoke to say such a thing opened a wound that had not yet healed within him.

 

He’d killed his father, as the Supreme Leader had asked, but he’d never felt more conflicted.

 

As Snoke removes his bony hands from the girl, she falls back on her heels with a sigh, though her eyes remained closed. Her skin was so soft and warm under his hands. It had been such a long time since he’d a touched a woman, Snoke mused. He couldn’t deny he didn’t enjoy the feel of the girl…she was so young and radiant with life.

 

A small surge of relief hits Kylo when Snoke stops touching her, but he focuses a hardened glare on his advancing master who narrows his eyes on Kylo’s kneeling form.

 

Angling his head to the side, Snoke rasps,” When I found you, I saw something all masters long to see. I saw…. raw power…. and such potential. I saw… a new Vader.”

 

Kylo releases a shaky breath when he watches Snoke extend a hand toward Rey, curling his fingers inwards as he commands,” Come here, granddaughter of Sheev Palpatine.”

 

The girl does as she is told without saying a word, sauntering up his master without a word and releasing a groan as she presses her chest to Snoke’s side. Her eyes remained closed, her beautiful hazel eyes unseeing of the horrors she was not enacting of her own free will.

 

Snoke was manipulating her through the Force. He had stolen away her consciousness only to leave a bare mind that knew only to take the dark orders he whispered to her. She was his puppet and he could do with her whatever he wished, and that thought made Kylo’s skin crawl as anger ebbed through him.

 

Ren wanted to look at her, to see the life in those vivacious eyes. He wanted his Reya back.

 

A wicked grin edges over the Supreme Leader at the feel of her against him as he continues,” Alas, you are no son of Vader. You have too much of your father’s heart in you, Ben Solo.”

 

Ren winces as if burned at Snoke’s words. He’d thought that he’d given everything he had to Snoke and the dark side. He’d killed his own _father,_ for fuck’s sake. Wasn’t that enough?

 

Kylo balls both hands into fists at his sides as he seethes,” I killed Han Solo. When the moment came, I didn’t hesitate!”

 

The Supreme Leader steps away from Rey and toward Kylo as he answers in a grating tone, “And look at you… the deed split your soul in half. You let your father deceive you through lies and were nearly bested by the girl you are so infatuated with!”

 

Anger threatens to overtake him as Kylo rises, a hand moving to grab the lightsaber secured at his hip.

 

His hand never makes it to the lightsaber, for Kylo is thrown back by purple lightning that erupts from Snoke’s fingertips.

 

Kylo’s body lands with a thud across the room as his master darkly chuckles, shaking his head at his protégé for even thinking about trying to harm him.

 

“I should take away one of your hands for your insolence, you fool. But, since you brought me the girl, I shall be merciful and… allow you to keep it,” Snoke gutturally declares as he hobbles toward Rey.

 

Ren tries to keep his thoughts under control. Oh, how he tries. He cannot stop the burning desire to punch something, _anything_. His master has taken the only one he cares about and is toying with her as if she is his puppet and saying cruel things to him.

 

What had he possibly done to deserve this, he wonders. He’d brought Snoke the girl as he’d asked and murdered Han Solo. What more did his master want from him?

 

Despite it all, Ren was most unnerved at what his master was doing to Rey. Every time he watched Snoke touch her, it made his skin crawl and he had to bite back remarks that he feared would make the Supreme Leader do more to her.

 

It dawns on him then that he is wholly at his master’s mercy, now. Anything he does will fall back on Rey. The thought causes a pang of fear to flit around his stomach, traveling like a snake through him until he is racked with the emotion.

 

Every thought that his apprentice has is broadcasted so loudly and clearly to Snoke as he watches Kylo Ren try to control the anger that roars like a fire and the fear that now fill him.

 

His apprentice has never been so easy to read and it becomes evident how much the girl matters to him by the way his eyes were narrowing and how he had the look of rage dawning over his face.

 

It was… _delicious_ , Snoke mused.

 

Ren remains on the floor as his master releases a sick bout of laughter,” Should you ever fail me again, I _will_ take one of your hands. Or…”

 

The humanoid pauses, moving his piercing glare from Ren to Rey as he trails aged fingers from her jaw to her chest,” If you fail me again…I shall take her away from you, Ben Solo, and I shall make her… _mine_.” He finishes as he licks his lips.

 

Ren’s blood runs cold as he watches his master sit and beckon the girl to him. Her eyes are still closed as she sits down on his lap with a groan when he roughly wraps an arm around her, running another hand over her thigh as he whispers something into her ears and leans close.

 

The sight almost makes Ren retch as he sees the girl arch against him when Snoke’s hand runs dangerously close to sliding up her skirts, a moan falling from her mouth. Kylo cannot help but to feel angry with himself for letting this happen to her. He was supposed to be protecting her, damn him. Perhaps he is a failure, he thinks.

 

Snoke’s cracked lips nearly graze the edge of Rey’s ear as he moves closer to her ordering in a haughty tone,” Tell him he is a failure, Reya. Tell him he means nothing to you. Tell him he is a disappointment and that he doesn’t deserve you.”

 

No sooner does Snoke finish than does he extend a hand toward his apprentice and Kylo feels an invisible net wrap around him, pulling him forward until he kneels before the throne, both Rey and Snoke moving their heads in tandem to look down on him.

 

Kylo releases a shaky breath when he watches Rey rise, hoping the Supreme Leader will put them out of this torment sooner rather than later. It pains him to see Rey being tossed around as if she were a mere marionette. He wants his Reya back.

 

The girl stands before him for a few moments unmoving and unwilling to speak. It is enough to make Kylo think that maybe Snoke has released his hold on her.

 

Finally her lips move, but her voice is dead as it echoes off the walls around them.

 

”You have failed the Supreme Leader in more ways than one, Kylo Ren. You are a failure in every sense of the word. You are inadequate in mind, body and soul in your allegiance to the Dark Side, and for that, I am disappointed.”

 

Kylo soon forgets that it is not her that is speaking, that fact that it is her voice to tell him these things breaking his spirit once more. He cannot handle this. His psyche cannot take it if Rey, too, thinks him to be a failure.

 

His head dips and he shakes his head, defeat calling to him as he closes his eyes.

 

He cannot watch her recite the words he knows Snoke is putting into her. It hurts too much.

 

She continues, her voice flat and lifeless as she speaks,” You are nothing to me as the sands of Jakku are nothing, Kylo Ren. What would you have that would possibly satisfy a woman like me?”

 

Kylo’s hands clench and he can feel his fingernails biting into his skin through the leather gloves that begin to feel so constricting.

 

Snoke rises, putting a gnarled hand around Rey’s exposed hip as he grins, his voice rasping as he orders, ”Tell her you are nothing, Kylo Ren. Acknowledge your pitiful existence and your meaninglessness…. so that she knows you, like your bastard father…are scum of this galaxy.”

 

The words are thrown as carelessly as the wind and Ren cannot find it in himself to keep his body from trembling. The anger that had been smoldering him before now dims as it is replaced by sadness that washes over him like water.

 

For the first time in a while, Kylo allows defeat to overrun him, his shoulders slumping as he looks to Rey.

 

Snoke, irritated with Ren’s lack of response, raises a hand over his apprentice, summoning the Force to beat down on him until Kylo’s knees fall out from under him and he falls to the floor with a thump.

 

His nose makes contact first, a crunching sound coming from there as Ren allows his master to throw him to the floor.

 

Snoke’s voice is harsh as he yells,” Answer me, spawn of Han Solo!”

 

Ren does not see the blood, but he feels it trickle down from his nostrils over his lips and down to his neck where it begins to seep into his tunic as he answers his master, totally defeated.

 

“I am worthless, Rey. I am nothing but a liar and thief, like my father before me,” he finally confesses.

 

The words his apprentice utters sound so crestfallen that it causes a surge of empowerment to flash through Snoke. He was won and broken his apprentice. Casting a heated glare toward Reya, he realizes his ultimate weapon will always be her.

 

How delicious, he muses as he runs his eyes over her once more, devouring her visage.

 

With a lick of his lips, he waves a hand over the girl, and she falls towards the floor with a sigh, still as death.

 

Her body never falls onto the hard floor, for Kylo quickly pushes himself up, ignoring the hot pain that burns around his fresh wounds.

 

She is more important to him than anything, he thinks, and he will not allow any more harm to come to her than he already has.

 

Without hesitation, he throws an arm toward her and curls his fingers in so that her fall is broken through the Force and she slowly moves so that she descends gracefully into his waiting arms.

 

Ren cradles her against him, wiping away the stray hair that had fallen over her face. Blood drips onto her sun-kissed face, and Ren curses as he holds his arm under his nose so that he doesn’t stain her with his cursed blood.

 

Laughter rumbles from Snoke as he moves to sit on his throne once more, watching his apprentice with a sick satisfaction as he croaks,” Do not think… that I would let your indiscretions on Starkiller Base and Takodana… go unpunished, Kylo Ren.”

 

Kylo pushes past the anger, sadness and defeat that all threaten to consume him as he looks at Rey. Her countenance is at peace, and he knows that Snoke has broken his hold over her as he runs gloved fingers over her cheek.

 

“Yes, master.” He responds. It is all he can say out of worry that his master will do something to Reya if he does not submit.

 

Tilting his head at the two Force-Users before him, Snoke coldly asks,” Do you think you are worthy of training her in the Force? Of holding her in your arms so mindlessly?”

 

The earlier question was one that Kylo had been hoping his master would ask, but after what had just transpired, it seemed to Kylo that he was ineffective, even if he did want to train Reya.

 

Ren’s eyes narrow as he moves a hardened glare to his master, shaking his head.

 

“I am not worthy, master, but it would give me the utmost pleasure to train her. She is, as you said, my other half in the Force,” Kylo admits.

 

Folding both hands together, he humanoid creature considers his protégé.

 

“You have learned…. your lesson in your… inadequacy, then, Kylo Ren. I am feeling… merciful today since you did succeed in finding and bringing her to me,” Snoke gestures to Rey with a both hands as he continues, “So, I will grant you… the ability to train her since she is your counterpart in the Force, but… on one condition,” Snoke solemnly declares.

 

Kylo’s eyes do not leave Snoke’s, renewed hope in his words as he answers, “Anything, master. Tell me and it will be done.”

 

Ren would do anything if it meant he could train her and remain by her side. Even if that meant being tortured and abused by his master as he had been since he was a child.

 

He had learned that being apart from Rey was something he could not handle, and of that, he was certain.

 

A malicious grin soon spreads over his master’s face, a sick feeling settling in Ren’s stomach and making his it twist.

 

Ren briefly casts a glance at Reya and then back at Snoke, hoping against everything that the Supreme Leader will be merciful. Kylo knows now that he needs Rey. Seeing how she’d been with his master just now had confirmed that.

 

The silence that pervaded the room became so intense; Ren could hear nothing but his own breathing as he waited for Snoke to deliver his ultimatum with baited breath.

 

It went on like that for some time until Snoke leaned forward, declaring in a grated tone,” You may train her…but you will give me an heir, Kylo Ren. Solidify your bond with her…and make me an heir.”

 

His eyes widen in total bewilderment at what his master is asking of him.

 

He stammers,” You…you want me to…”

 

Amusement falls onto Snoke’s expression as he watches his apprentice, nodding as says,” You are of age, Kylo Ren. There is a reason…I wanted you to find her…and make her one of us,” he admits.

 

“You want to make her a broodmare because of her power in the Force?” He disbelievingly questions, still not able to really take in what his master has just ordered of him.

 

“She will be what I decide, my apprentice. She is strong in the Force…if you cannot give me what I desire through her, I will… find someone else, eventually. She will only ever be able to sire me younglings through another…Force-User, for she is too… fragile to be with anyone else.”

 

Kylo cannot believe that his master only thinks of her as a vessel for procreation. She is so much more than that, and he wishes that Snoke could see that.

 

Still taken aback by what Snoke has ordered of him, he somehow manages to speak.

 

“This girl is not fragile, master. She is many amazing things, but fragile is not one of them,” Ren earnestly professes as he looks to her again, pulling her closer.

 

Sitting back, Snoke replies,” You will not fail me on this, Kylo Ren. If you do, I _will_ take her from you and I will make her _mine_.”

 

With a nod, Kylo gathers the girl in his arms, putting one under her back and the other under her thighs as if she were a bride.

 

She inhales deeply against him as he walks away and he feels Snoke’s piercing gaze on them well after he leaves the room.

 

Ren is gentle with Rey when he takes her back to her chambers. She is laid on her bed and he stands before her, hoping to once more gaze into her beautiful hazel eyes.

 

Her skin looks so soft and she seems so at peace in her slumber that Ren can’t help but to take his gloves off as he sits besides her. When he runs the pad of his thumb over her chin, she breathes a name. His name.

 

“ _Kylo_ …”

 

He stops, watching for any change in expression as the girl utters his name again, but this time, softer as she moves a hand to lay over his.

 

He gasps at the contact, not knowing what to do as he continues to watch her and let her touch him.

 

A familiar pulse thrums through his chest as the sleeping beauty before him calls for him, gripping his hand now. He takes in all of her freckles that dot her cheeks, how she pulls her bottom lip in after she mumbles his name, how her eyebrows move apart every now then.

 

She is so beautiful, he thinks. So beautiful that he cannot help but to lean forward and plant a feather-light kiss to her forehead. Her skin is so warm under his lips, and he wonders if she would get this worked up if she watched him sleep.  

 

No, he shouldn’t be thinking of these things. She didn’t care about him the way he did for her, did she?

 

Kylo shakes his head, disconnecting his lips from her as he slides his hand away to get up. He doesn’t make it two steps away from before he hears her call for him again.

 

“Kylo,” she softly calls.

 

When he turns around, the girl’s eyes are open and so full of the life he’d been accustomed to seeing. He is glad for it. She is free of Snoke’s grasp for now.

 

“Rey,” he answers with a sigh of relief.

 

She angles her head to the side after looking about the room, a question in her eyes,”What happened? We were with that man and I met my grandfather, and then I…”

 

Her voice falters as he watches her brows furrow while she rubs her temples. She doesn’t remember anything after meeting Sheev Palpatine, he realizes with a start.

 

Without thinking, he moves to sit beside her once more, laying a hand on her shoulder. He squeezes it, calling her attention back to his gaze as he gently reassures, “You’re alright, Rey. Nothing bad has happened.”

 

It is then that she notices his nose has been offset, blood coating his lower face down to his neck and he breaks her gaze to look down in shame. The girl cannot stop herself from caressing his cheek, noticing the small wince from him at the contact.

 

“Kylo, your nose…” She softly says.

 

His eyes remain on the floor, unable to look at her as he tries to brush it off,” It’s nothing. Really, it isn’t.”

 

The girl dips her head as she moves his upwards to catch his eyes, giving him a knowing look. “A broken nose is not nothing, Kylo Ren.”

 

He shakes his head as if doing so will rid him of his injury when he chides,” It is nothing to me, Rey. I have faced far worse than this before.”

 

He is solemn as his words leave him, and the girl can sense he is closing himself off from her as she allows her hand to fall from the side of his face that is unmarked by a scar. Not wanting him to distance himself from her, she tentatively speaks. “You are hurt, nonetheless. I can help you with this, if you’d like,” she gently offers.

 

Kylo considers her for a moment, finally giving in with a sigh when she moves her hand to lie atop his.

 

Why did she have to be so damn perfect, he wonders.

 

The girl rises from the bed and he watches her graceful strides before she disappears into the ‘fresher. She is gone from his vision almost as soon as she returns, kneeling before him as she silently moves a white cloth toward his nose.

 

Ren resists the impulse to grab her wrist to keep her from touching him since he has never really been touched before, but one look into her beautiful hazel eyes has him lost as she gently dabs the cloth over his face.

 

She is careful where she cleans him, for she does not want to harm him. Gradually he becomes more relaxed, his rigid posture loosening and furrowed brows moving apart the longer she attends to his injury.

 

Silence falls between them and she can only hear his almost rhythmic breathing as she wipes away the last of the blood on his neck when he sighs.

 

Even with his nose being offset, the girl cannot help but to find him attractive. He has unconventional looks, but they are pleasing to her even now, she realizes as she moves her hand from his face.

 

A question forms in her mind and before she can get lost in his eyes, she blurts,” Kylo…how did your nose end up like that?”

 

His back straightens and casts his eyes away from her once more as he slowly responds,” Really, Rey… this isn’t anything that needs discussing.”

 

His response made her more curious than before and she has an uneasy feeling that she’d done something that had hurt him. She can feel sadness and anger radiating off of him.

 

There’s something else, too… something he feels towards her and only her, but she can’t understand what. The thought of hurting him was ludicrous to her, but if she couldn’t remember anything…

 

“Kylo,” she tentatively questions, “did I do anything to hurt you?”

 

She notices the flash he tries to hide in his eyes as he remembers something, and the girl can’t help but move to sit on her heels as she places a hand on each of his cheeks.

 

His eyes widen in surprise as if he can’t believe she is touching him, and she pleads through their connected eyes, trying to get him to tell her what she has done. She knows she did something when she blacked out.

 

She can feel it in his emotions that roll off of him and see it in his conflicted but adoring eyes.

 

He seems to consider her as she runs her fingers across his alabaster skin. She tilts her head, trying to understand what he is struggling to tell her as he leans into her touch.

 

His skin is so warm against her and she notices the glassiness of his eyes when she gently asks again,” Kylo, what did I do? Tell me so that I can help you.”

 

Ren closes his eyes at that, shaking his head when he replies, “It’s nothing. It wasn’t you… it was something else.”

 

His guarded answer stings her as she realizes he doesn’t want to confide in her. Kylo hears her thoughts and at the last one, his lids rise to meet hers,

 

“I’m just hurting from a decision I made, Rey. It’s nothing.”

 

His statement is not a lie, for he has never lied to her. He just can’t bring himself to do that to her.

 

Ren wants to tell her more. He wants to tell her everything, but he cannot risk losing her. He fears she will turn away from the Dark Side if she learns of what Snoke had done to her and what she had to done him, for he can see and feel that she is deeply affected at the mere thought of hurting him.

 

The fact warms his cold, black heart. No one had ever cared for him the way she is showing him now, and not for the first time, he silently thanks the Force for binding them together.

 

Rey subconsciously removes her hands from him, wrapping her arms around herself as if it can somehow stop the uneasy feeling that settles within her.

 

She cannot rid herself of the sick feeling settling in her gut at the thought of harm coming to the man who had captured her attentions. He means more to her than anyone ever has, and she treasured that. She treasured him for who he was and what he’d done for her.

 

“Hey,” Kylo warmly presses as he puts a hand under her chin to lift it toward him, “We’re both fine. The Supreme Leader liked you more than I’d anticipated, Rey. He told me that I could train you, should you wish it.”

 

Ren hopes he can change the subject, for his pain would be too much for her to bear.

 

“Really?” She beamed.

 

At the mention of learning the Force, the girl can’t help but to smile, happiness rising within her as she looks into his warm brown eyes. Thoughts of the negative emotions she can almost feel from Ren fall away in her excitement, for she had wanted nothing more than for him to be her teacher.

 

Ren nods, glad to focus on a different matter and the girl impulsively wraps her arms around him, hoping it will show him how thankful she is.

 

He stifles the grunt that threatens to leave his lips as she does so, the quick movement causing sharp pain to rack his face. He will be quiet, if only for her sake. Ren wants her to enjoy this moment, even if that meant hiding his pain from her.

 

The practice of touching others was lost on the girl due to being enslaved on Jakku for so long, so she did not know the proper ways to go about doing it. She could only guess for now, but for some reason, she couldn’t seem to stop the impulse to touch Ren.

 

Something about him just drew her in and he had that effect on her, though she didn’t know why. His muscles go rigid once more, but he gradually relaxes into her touch as he feels her warmth envelop him.

 

It’s been such a long time since anyone touched him like this, and to say that it didn’t make him feel a certain way would be a lie.

 

The girl pulls away quicker than he would’ve liked, but he will take the small touches she gives him for now. After what just happened with Snoke, her presence alone is enough for him.

 

They look at each other for a time, neither speaking in a comfortable silence until he hears the rumbling and growling of her empty stomach.

 

With a lift of a brow, he amusedly asks,” Are you hungry?”

 

Her eyes visibly light up at that, and she leans forward. It is close enough that he can feel her excited breaths against his neck, and with an energetic nod of her head, she answers, but not before noticing his injury once more.

 

“Starving, but let’s get that nose of yours fixed, first.” She exclaims with a smirk.

 

Chuckling, he replies,” I’m never going to be able to get anything past you, am I?”

 

“Never. If you are to be my teacher, you will have to try harder than that, Master Ren!”

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm, so Snoke wants Rey to get pregnant?! Interesting... 
> 
> I genuinely hope you guys liked this update, as this is where things start to get messed up, and it's only the beginning, my darlings!
> 
> Please let me know what you think, as your comments/kudos/feedback really help me out as a writer due to my overwhelming self-consciousness ! I am always looking to better myself, so if there is something you guys would like to point out or tell me, don't be afraid! 
> 
> I love talking to you guys about this work, so please don't hesitate if you want to contact or chat with me!
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr @reyloworld and on Instagram @_.reylo._ :


	13. Feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my loves! I'm back with another update! I can't try to explain my odd update schedule anymore based on so many inconsistencies with which I post... I am sorry for that, my darlings. 
> 
> I will try my best to get back on track with this fic and have a normal update schedule. It's been hectic with school and such, so I wanted to let you all know I am trying! 
> 
> In honor of Valentine's Day (which, to be honest, I hate this holiday, lol) I decided to write a little something for our dark siders! I plan to have the next chapter up relatively soon considering how short this one is compared to previous ones. 
> 
> If you guys were waiting for smut, I can promise it WILL be in the next chapter!! I 
> 
> Are you ready? 
> 
> LET'S GO!!! :D  
> \---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Okay…this is going to hurt, but I promise I’ll try to get it over with as soon as possible,” the girl tells him as he sits and watches her pad away to the kitchenette.

 

Kylo knows that this is something he could have done through the Force with a simple wave of a hand and a few lingering seconds of pain. Snoke had not been kind to him a boy, so he’d learned how to fix broken bones as if it were the easiest thing in the world.

 

Nevertheless, he will use anything he can to spend more time with Rey, even if it is for a broken nose.

 

The girl had lead him from the bedroom to the living area of her quarters where she’d turned to point to the lounge that sat in front of the fire that roared on the other end of the room, and he’d obliged her as he watched her take a clean towel and run it under some water, a blush rushing to her cheeks when she’d caught him staring at her.

 

The girl doesn’t know what it is about Kylo that makes her so nervous and giddy all at once, for his piercing eyes almost make her feel as if she’s being pulled to him as she walks back to him.

 

He looks entirely too big for even the large lounge he now sits on, and the fact would’ve made her laugh if she wasn’t so sure that she’d done something horrible to him when she’d lost her consciousness.

 

She shakes her head at the thought, moving to stand between his parted legs as she bends to place a hand on either side of his offset nose. She is cognizant of how her breasts are on display for him, but his injury is more important right now.

 

She does not miss the sigh that comes from him when her fingers make contact with him, and the girl lightly presses her fingers to his alabaster skin to gage how much damage has been done.

 

Rey notices his eyes dart from her own to somewhere below, and she has a distinct inclination to bend further so he can have a better view of the breasts that crest over the edge of her dress. She would be lying to herself if she didn’t enjoy the attention he was giving to her.

 

Lifting a brow, she amusedly asks,” Everything alright, Kylo?”

 

His eyes screw shut immediately as his own cheeks color, and Rey cannot help but to smile as she falls to her knees, still pressing against the tender skin of his nose as she softly tells him,”Kylo, I need you to open your eyes and look at me. This will hurt less if you are…distracted,” she lightly finishes.

 

His eyes don’t open at first, and so the girl gives a huff of annoyance as she applies force with her left hand. He releases a grunt at that, his eyes shooting open to gaze into her own as she stops applying pressure with her hand.

 

“You know, I have done this before”, she confesses as she watches him take in her kneeling form,” but are you sure you’re all right with me doing this rather than a doctor? I could…“

 

She is silenced as she watches him shake his head; his deep and melodious voice sounding. Wait, since when did she find his voice to be appealing?

 

“I don’t make a habit of going to the doctor over something as minute as this, little one,” he gently admits,” I would rather you do it.”

 

The girl’s eyes widen at that when she retorts,”But, why? Why me?”

 

The term of endearment is not lost on her, either. She rather likes the way the title falls from his lips. She likes it very much. He chuckles, his warm eyes piercing hers as he responds,” Because I feel more comfortable here with you.”

 

The girl is so taken aback that she impulsively pushes his nose on both sides, effectively moving it back into place as a fresh stream of blood trails down his chin.

 

He grunts loudly as he cradles where she has just touched, her own hands moving to grab and press the towel to his bloodied skin as she tries to comprehend what he’s just said.

 

“I…I’m sorry about your nose, Kylo…. It was all so sudden and I just, well…”

 

She trails off, moving her gaze to the floor as Kylo pushes away the pain that tears through his face. This wasn’t nearly as bad as the scar she’d given him, and he was more than used to a broken nose.

 

Releasing his hands from his face, he moves one under her chin, lifting it as he implores,” Rey, look at me.”

 

She obliges, her beautiful hazel eyes meeting his as he tells her,” There is nothing to be sorry for, little one. I know you only had good intentions and that I may have overstepped with what I just said,” he realizes as he runs the pad of his thumb over her chin.

 

She resists the urge to lean into him and savor the touch. He does it so often that she has come to like it and is comfortable to her now, but what she doesn’t expect is the sudden want for him to touch more. To touch the places that she…

 

The girl immediately pushes the sinful thought away. Such a thought had never come to her mind and she is almost horrified that she even had it. But when she looks back into his eyes, she finds herself lost to them.

 

How does he have his effect on her?

 

Her skin is so warm under his cold fingers. She is responsive to his touch, now, for he can feel her comfort in it through their bond. The thoughts she has startle him, for he hadn’t been expecting her to think or want _that_ for some time.

 

She looks so small as she sits under his large form, and he cannot resist the sinful images that soon flit into his mind.

 

Snoke’s ultimatum somehow comes between it all, and he pushes himself from those thoughts as he looks back into her curious eyes as she considers him.

 

“It’s not that you overstepped, Kylo. I just wasn’t expecting that from you. I haven’t...” she pauses, moving her eyes from Kylo’s eyes to the fireplace that sits behind him,”I haven’t ever had someone that enjoyed my company or was at ease with me,” she tentatively confesses.

 

His black heart swells at the thought of her being alone and separated from him at the hands of his damned uncle. So much pain and conflict in his beautiful desert jewel, and he is powerless to stop it.

 

No, he muses. He cannot allow this to continue.

 

Rising from the lounge, he moves to the communication panel set on the side of her door, pressing various buttons as she cocks her head in curiosity.

 

“Kylo, what are you doing?”

 

“Patience, little one. Your eagerness is so refreshing, though,” he responds.

 

He turns, a warm smile gracing his handsome face. A wave of…something washes over the girl at the sight, for she is glad to have found him. He is proving to be her… what was he to her?

 

The girl did not know what it was to have a friend. She knew there was a relationship deeper than that of a friend, but she’d only seen it once or twice on Jakku. She’d been told that, beyond that of a friend, one could have a significant other, or a person so special that they couldn’t ever be replaced.

 

She wondered for a moment what Kylo was to her. He’d proved to be more than a friend by Jakku’s standards. So then, what was he to her?

 

The girl’s thoughts are silenced by a series of clicks and chimes as a droid flits in, a tray strewn across it with things she’s never seen before.

 

There is a sweet smell that fills her, the aroma foreign but appealing all the same as the droid ceremoniously moves the tray atop the table that sits in front of the viewport.

 

The droid is gone before Rey can thank it, her body responding to the smell with a rumble in her stomach as Ren beckons her to the table.

 

When she gets there, she notices there are two bowls of soup for her, narrowing her eyes at the man who amusedly leans against the viewport.

 

“Go on,” he insists,” eat. It’s been a long time since you had a real meal, hasn’t it?”

 

The girl quirks her head at him, wary of how laid back he is being despite what just happened.

 

She considers asking him to eat with her, but her stomach gives out a defiant growl. Ren chuckles at that, lifting a brow as if to tell her he knows how hungry she is.

Unable to resist the food, she sits as she watches him cross his arms over himself, a look of interest falling over his face.

 

The girl figures he’ll find something to amuse himself while she eats, so she focuses her attention on the two bowls of steaming hot soup that sit atop the tray.

 

There is some kind of utensil on the tray, but Rey is not sure what to do with it, so she simply lifts the first bowl to her waiting lips and tips it back, the warm creamy liquid rich with flavor as it falls over her tongue.

 

Rey does not think she’s ever tasted anything so good in her life. Once she starts eating the soup, she unceremoniously drains it, gulping it down as if she would never eat again.

 

A satisfied sigh lets Ren know that she had indeed enjoyed her meal, and he is glad for it. He knew she’d like it.

 

When she drops the first bowl to the tray and looks longingly at the second, Ren cannot help but to smile as she moves to stand next to her, taking the bowl and offering it to her.

 

Her eyes widen as if she can’t believe he’s giving her more, hesitance coloring her tone as she asks,” You’re not going to eat that?”

 

“No, he gently tells her,” it is yours. I had something earlier, while you were asleep,” he lies.

 

He watches the girl consider him, hoping she won’t yet be able to tell when he is lying like she used to.

 

It works well enough, for she tentatively takes the second bowl from him, draining it within seconds.

 

Wiping her hand across her face, she looks back to him, realizing that he’d been watching her the whole time.

 

“Kylo, why were you watching me eat?” She questions as she rises to stand in front of him.

 

His gaze lingers on the leftover drop of soup that sits under the crease of her upper lip, and he so badly wants to kiss her. To taste what the soup had done to her lips.

 

The thoughts are silenced when she asks again, this time in a softer tone.

 

Their gazes are locked and he thinks he could get lost in those hazel eyes, but his voice sounds.

 

“Do you want me to be honest?”

 

“I would never want you to lie to me, Kylo Ren.”

 

“If you want the truth, I was watching you because…”

 

He trails off, lost in her warm, entreating gaze as she draws her brows together in curiosity.

 

Kylo Ren has never lied to her, and he will not start, now. He knows with certainty that she feels something for him, so he will tell her how it is. He is not afraid of Rey. He is only afraid of losing her.

 

Rather than telling her, he decides something.

 

Extending a hand, he asks, “Do you trust me?”

 

The girl nods, no hesitance at all as she does.

 

“I’m going to show you something, little one. Something that should help you understand me a little better. “

 

A flashback of what he’d done to her ankle in Watto’s shop plays through her mind at the mention of him showing her something. She doesn’t know why, but she trusts him, so she will allow this.

 

He’s been nothing but good to her, so will let him show her whatever he wants.

 

Interested, she says, “As you wish.”

 

She lays her palm over his, immediately feeling a strong sense of adoration and longing for someone as something pulls at her consciousness. Curious, she follows it until she moves past a barrier that is weak to her presence.

 

Once past it, a scene plays out. She sees herself through Kylo’s eyes, his feelings and thoughts falling over her all at once as he heals her bloodied ankle. There is so much _warmth._ The girl watches as all of their encounters play out before her, but Ren leaves out what happened in the throne room for her own emotional stability.

 

He does not want her to feel any pain or remorse, here. Here, she will find a new home.

 

Hot tears soon fall down her angelic face she he extracts her from his mind. The girl cannot fathom what he has just shown her, for she now knows he cares for her in more ways than one as she tries to scramble for words to express how much this means to her.

 

“Kylo…you…” she trails off as his strong, warm body envelops hers. He lays a hand over her hair, stroking it as she leans into him.

 

His Reya is strong, so the tears soon slow as she looks up to him, red-rimmed eyes desperate for reassurance as she tentatively asks,” You care about me. Why?”

 

He pulls away at that, moving each of his hands to either side of her face as gently confesses, “I’ve known you for some time, now, Reya. You and I…we have known each other since we children, You were meant to remain by my side so that, together, we could bring a new order to the galaxy.”

 

Sniffling, she draws her brows together, realizing that what he has just told her is something she so desperately wants. With him, she can find the belonging she has sought her entire life. She’s been alone all of her life, and before her is someone she is inextricably connected with. She knows that, now.

 

“Why did you leave me? Why did you make me wait on Jakku for all those years?,” she sobs, a lone tear trailing down her face.

 

Ren captures her gaze once more, not able to keep the disdain from his voice when he speaks of Skywalker.

 

“There was a man, Rey. A man that trained us to deny our feelings and connection with each other. He saw a darkness in me that was brought on by my strong feelings for you, and so he feared us,” he tells her as a dark expression falls over his face.

 

The girl listens intently, trying to think of the bastard who had condemned her to a life of solitude, a name on her tip of her tongue that she can’t quite reach.

 

Ren watches her scrunch her face as she tries to remember, the name falling from his lips as easily as his lightsaber will eventually run him through.

 

“His name was Luke Skywalker, little one, and together we will destroy him.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm... Interesting. XD
> 
> I won't put too much in here, but again, comments/kudos are like portions to a scavenger and I appreciate every single one of them that you guys have given me! 
> 
> I'm a very insecure writer, so those really help me to know I'm doing well as your writer in this piece. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this! I'll see you all next week (or in the next couple of days XD)!


	14. Lust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, my darlings! It hasn't been that long since last updated, so I'm getting better! 
> 
> I won't say much in here as I know that you guys are anxious to get on with our first smut chapter of this fic, but I will tell you that this chapter is indeed 5000 words and is therefore a longer chapter (I felt bad for not updating last week so compensated with double the length of what last chapter was). 
> 
> Smutty times (and angsty times ahead), so be warned!
> 
> Are you ready? 
> 
> Let's go!  
> \-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * *

 

 

_His name was Luke Skywalker, little one, and together we will destroy him._

Kylo Ren’s words echo in Rey’s mind long after he’d left for the night cycle, the girl quick to realize that she missed his warm, comfortable presence.

 

Maybe it was because she had never had someone that so clearly cared about her, but she longed to be near him again even as she laid down in the sheets that were, to her disappointment, not as soft as his tantalizing touch.

 

There were so many things that she should have been thinking about, things that she should have been downright _pissed_ over between Snoke and Skywalker, but all she could think of was the pained but tender expression of his feelings that he’d shown to her.

 

Closing her eyes, she watches each of their encounters together play out once more, starting with when Kylo had first seen her in Watto’s shop, with Watto’s taunts and jabs the Toydarian had thrown at her paired with his anger at such things. Kylo had wanted to kill Watto for it, the fact giving the girl a sick appreciation and affection for him to do such a thing for her.

 

She sees Kylo’s utter wonderment and fascination for her upon seeing her, his resolve strong to defend her and anger quick to rise at the notion of anyone demeaning her as Watto had. She sees his adoration and excitement flare as he’d watched kill her captor, a sick sense both pride and desire washing over him when she’d turned and fallen into his arms as he admired her beauty and power. She sees his amusement in the training room and how much he enjoys the feel of her against him. How much he enjoys teasing her because he knows she harbors the same desire for him.

 

Despite it all, the girl is most moved by his total and utter surrender to a deep and endless compassion and devotion for her. She’d met him recently, but in so short a time he’d managed to wedge his way into her mind and heart, she realized. There was just something about him that drew her, his flames of dark desire too tempting for the girl to resist after a life that had been devoid of such a thing.

 

It makes her eyes grow watery once more as she wipes a solitary tear from her eye.

 

He’d looked so…so _youthful._ So vulnerable as she’d watched him after leaving his mind. The way he’d held her face for dear life paired with those piercing brown eyes of his. It left the girl helpless as her heart swelled in the moment as the weight of what he’d shown her hit her like a Force Push.

 

_He cared about her. For the first time in her life, someone cared about her._

 

He cared about her, and of that, the girl was certain. For a time, Rey simply waits for sleep to claim her, the girl’s thoughts betraying her as she attempts to fall into the solace of sleep. The last thing that she thinks about is his alabaster skin and dark locks that tumble in waves around dark eyes and how much she wishes he were with her before the girl’s eyes flutter to a close and she allows the dark clutches of sleep to envelop her.

 

 

____________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

When her eyes open, she is somewhere else.

 

She is no longer laying in her bed, but standing in a room she has never seen before.

 

Greeting her immediately to her front is a viewport that spans the entirety of what a wall should have been, the white twinkling orbs that are the stars before her complementing the soft fluorescent light that runs horizontally across the walls to either side of her.

 

To the girl’s immediate left is a leather couch as dark as the black space that kisses the stars, two matching lounge chairs set against it. Much like her room, there is a fireplace; it’s crimson flame licking up the ebony marble wall it frames.

 

To her right , there is a set of heavy-looking double doors that go from the floor to the ceiling accented with long chrome handles set in the middle of each, another door situated in a small alcove to the right of them.

 

The girl feels a strange urge to head to the smaller, singular door rather than the bigger, more imposing ones.

 

She’s just about to turn to go to it when she notices her reflection against the viewport, a small gasp leaving her lips as she does.

 

Her hair is in braided twin buns, each sitting on the upper part of either side of her head with a few loose strands framing her face.

 

It was a look she was unaccustomed to, but when she looks down to see what clings to her so tightly, she wonders what Kylo would think. She's traded her thin breast band and low cut sleep shorts for a gown, one that is very elaborate despite much of the skin it bares. Rey should’ve been disgusted with herself in something that left so little to the imagination, but she couldn't ignore the intricacy and detail that were so well defined on the ensemble that she now wore. 

 

The gown is ebony like the robes of the man she'd come to think of so frequently. The low-cut bodice clings tightly to her chest, squeezing her so that her small curves pop out of it. It has a shockingly low neckline, which leaves little to the imagination for her chest.

 

Her eyes move to the black armbands that are above each elbow, both articles glimmering as they catch on the light of the room. In the back of her mind, the girl knows she’s seen the type of stone they were made from before, for such had been very sought after and prized finds on Jakku.

 

They were made of black diamond, she suddenly realized as she experimentally runs her fingers over the one on her left arm. The girl let out another gasp, totally in awe of how beautiful the armbands were as she moved her arms. The sleeves knotted to the bands, each so long that they trailed along the floor when she walked. They were a rich chrome color, each one long and loose as they hung by her side.

 

 A headband made of the same material as the armbands lines her forehead, sparkling as it catches the soft light.

 

The dress had no back, exposing the entirety of her skin there as well as that of her shoulders.

 

The skirt of the gown was velvet as well, the same material as her headband embedded into it as each stone caught the light and glimmered with each movement that she made. There was a wide slit cut into the skirt that ran diagonally along the front and ended just above her upper thigh, exposing the entirety of her left leg.

 

Rey absent-mindedly dragged her hand along her back, wishing that her fingers didn’t move over the many scars that she'd earned from a life of hardship and labor on Jakku. 

 

Where was she and why was she in this dress, she wondered. This couldn’t be real, could it?

 

The girl allows her hand to flow up and down her back, the raised scars sensitive under her touch, even after so many years.

 

She may as well enjoy the moment while she had it, she mused. This probably was just her imagination, anyway.

 

There came a whirring of a door behind her as she slowly let her hands fall to her sides, not bothering to turn to see who had joined her. A part of her already knew who was going to be there, or maybe that was just the part of her that hoped it would be a certain raven-haired man.

 

Then again, the girl felt the familiar presence of the man who had frequented her thoughts as of late, so it was not lost on her who had entered the room.

 

A strong pair of arms wrap around her sides, pulling her back against a muscled chest that she can feel even through his layers of dark clothing. His warmth wraps around her in his closeness as he frames her from behind, for she can feel it radiating off of him.

She draws in a breath at that as she goes rigid against his embrace, not prepared for when one hand dips to slide down her thigh.

 

“Kylo, what are you-“

 

She doesn’t get to finish before warm lips press over the nape of her neck, suckling her skin as he pulls it between his teeth, slowly and lazily moving along her left shoulder. She shivers at his touch, wholly unprepared for how soft his lips are and how he makes her skin tingle.

 

The girl cannot help but to slowly lean into him as he lavishes attention to her, one of her arms rising as she lays a hand in his hair. So close to her, his deep and husky voice falls over her ears.

 

“You waited for me, my love. You waited for me.”

 

The girl has to bite her bottom lip to keep from releasing the sinful sounds she knows are coming as his hand slowly moves under the slit of her dress at the same time that he suckles on the pulse point of her neck, a low whimper escaping her as he laves his tongue over the flesh when he lightly bites.

 

The pain was not unwelcome to the girl, for she found she rather liked how he soothed the skin with his tongue after doing it.

 

His touch soon makes it difficult for her to think as her thoughts become jumbled. All she can do is close her eyes and _feel_ what he does to her.  

 

The hand that had moved under her skirt now kneads gentle circles into her backside, the girl moaning under his ministrations as he moves another hand to trail the pad of his thumb along her spine, a shiver falling over the her at the heat his touch leaves behind. When she wriggles against him suggestively, it is all he can do not to groan as he tries to control himself.

 

When his lips separate from her and he turns her around, she opens her eyes upon feeling the cool transparisteel against her bare back.

 

She watches him as he takes her in, warmth soon spreading between her hips at how he seems transfixed by what he is looking at, his eyes fixing on her chest, then following the slit of her dress, finally moving back to her gaze as he takes a slow step toward her. Under his intense look, she feels her cheeks begin to burn.

 

His gaze is almost predatory when he closes the distance between them, and it is all the girl can do not to get lost in those eyes as she tentatively whispers,” Of course I did, master…”

 

He grins at that, curling his fingers in when his arm extends toward her as he summons the Force to wrap around the girl. Her arms, bound by an invisible tether, rise over her head as she’s pushed against the wall with a gasp. A rush of excitement flares in her core at his show of dominance, for the girl likes it as she feigns resistance and tries to wriggle out of his hold.

 

The girl had never seen this side of him before, but she could not deny how seductive it was to see him look at her as if she were something to be devoured paired with a dominance he so comfortably shrouded himself in.

 

Fine, she muses, if this is how he will be, she is more than willing to play.

 

Batting her lashes, she innocently taunts,” Such hostility to your padawan, Lord Ren. Are you sure that acting that way will win her affection?”

 

Kylo’s grin widens as he gives a knowing look, his haughty tone betraying his desire as he wraps a hand around her waist,” She will submit, regardless. You see, I know something, my love-“

 

He pauses, capturing her lips in a rough kiss as he moves the hand on her waist to the bare skin of her back, running the pad of his thumb in circles along the lower part of it as he pushes against her, the girl’s breast now pressing against him as he releases a groan.

 

The girl parts her lips to grant him access to her mouth as his tongue dips inside and she feels herself ease up at his demanding touch.

 

Her eyes close as he hungrily explores what she has given him, his tongue everywhere all at once as he presses his mouth more insistently against her while his other hand dips under the slit of the dress to once more trail up her thigh.

 

The girl’s eyes widen in surprise as she breaks away from the kiss, panting as she notices him wipe away the smear of red lip coloring that now coats his lips when he continues, “-I know everything there is to know about you, Reya Palpatine.”

 

He runs a finger down her spine as he bends to plant a feather light kiss to the breasts that strain over the edge of the fabric and she feels her core flare with excitement, “I know what makes you lose yourself, my love. I know the dark things you try to deny that so eagerly try to escape you…. I know everything,” he haughtily declares as he runs a finger over the slick lips that she has left bare for him under her dress.

 

 

 

His hand moves with such ease and it is only when he finds and flicks the tiny bundle of nerves and groans as he rubs his digits together that the girl realizes how coated her thighs are in her arousal.

 

If this is what he’d done to her with a few simple touches and kisses, she wonders what he could do if he just….

The girl arches as he pushes a finger inside her, her head falling back as he pulls the bodice down and his full lips trail downwards until he sucks at the hardened nipple of her left breast, his other hand rubbing and flicking at the nipple on her right tit.

Rey squirms against his touch, a moan escaping her lips as he lavishes attention to her chest.

His tongue circles over the hardened bud of flesh, never ceasing until he hears his name fall from her lips.

“Please, master…”

“Not until I’m finished,” he growls.

With a wet ‘pop,’ he releases her tit and moves to the other, nipping at the skin and suckling until his padawan is pleading for the release slowly building in her core.

It is only when she whines and watches his hooded gaze move from her chest to her eyes that he relents, taking one of her hands to press against the bulge of his pants, huskily whispering, “ _Look what you do to me, little one_.”

Her eyes widen at the evidence of his arousal as he falls to his knees before her and she looks down at him, reverence in his eyes as he lifts her skirts with one hand while moving his gaze to the apex she has left bare for him.

Her cheeks burn as she watches him. What if he saw something he didn’t like? What if he found her disgusting?

As if he can hear her thoughts, he utters,” Beautiful….so beautiful, my love.”

She doesn’t have time to make sense of it before he latches on to the bundle of nerves around her clit, taking care to thrust his tongue upon it time and time again, unrelenting. Her hips buck even through his hold and he can feel she is close.

She is so close, and as if Ren knows this, he removes one hand from her hip, soon pressing a second finger into her entrance as she clenches onto him.

The girl writhes against the wall as she reaches out to grab at his mess of hair, a heady breath escaping her lips as she feels her release coming nearer and nearer.

“Let yourself go, Rey. Surrender to me,” he darkly commands before moving his lips back to her womanhood.

So caught up in watching him, she’s not prepared for the feeling of thousands of tiny presses against her clit as Ren summons the Force, and as his tongue flicks against her in tandem with the fingers that moves up and down within her, she finally succumbs to her release, yelling his name as she surrenders to what he has done to her.

 

“That’s it, little one. You did so well,” he gently tells her.

 

Throwing her head back, The words echo through their bond as Lord Ren laps at her juices until nothing is left, her body quaking from her orgasm as he rises to press a gentle kiss to her waiting lips.

 

She can taste her own arousal on them as he lightly claims her mouth with his, and she should’ve been disgusted, but wasn’t. His eyes close for a moment as he deepens the kiss, only opening when he pulls away.

 

When his lips finally disconnect from hers, her breaths are sporadic and jagged as she feels her legs give out and her arms lower from the release of his hold.

 

Smirking at the panting girl, he wraps a hand around each thigh and her back so she falls gracefully into his arms as if she is a bride.

 

“I told you I knew what you like, my love,” he chuckles as the girl absent-mindedly wipes at the wetness that coats his chin.

 

“Don’t keep me waiting again, Kylo Ren. Else I won’t feel the inclination to allow you to touch me so freely,” she teased with an arch of a brow.

 

A dark look passes over his hooded gaze, another rush of excitement trilling through the girl as he lowered his full lips to capture hers once more,” Oh, Reya… you should be careful of what you demand, my _padawan_.”

 

“Hmm…what would you do to me if I didn’t?” She questions with an amused smirk.

 

After a moment of consideration, he darkly intones,” Ohhh, many things, little one… _Many things.”_

 

When she closes her eyes, she is met with darkness.

 

* * *

 

Kylo’s eyes snap open as he shoots up in the bed, wiping at the sheen of sweat that now coats his cheeks as he feels the girl’s Force Signature flare with an unwelcome and sudden breathlessness that quickly catches his lungs.

 _Rey_.

He doesn’t think. He can only act.

His body moves on it’s own and he’s already out of his rooms and into hers as he looks around the dark space lit only by the fire that still burns on the far side of the room.

His stomach rolls when he doesn’t see her, the panic that slowly begins to wrap around his chest and constrict only makes it more difficult to breathe when she does not appear.

He’s about to make his way to her bedroom when the large wooden doors open and the girl slowly treads down the steps, her panic clear through the furrowed brows and thin line her lips are set in.

It’s almost as if she doesn’t notice him at first, her eyes only rising from the floor to meet his when he gently calls her, “Rey.”

Her eyes widen as if she can’t believe he is there and her cheeks grow to be a deep shade of red against the warm firelight that somehow makes her look ethereal even with her mused hair and worried expression.

“Oh, Kylo…. I wasn’t expecting you to…um…” She isn’t able to finish as she tries to hide the blush that now fully graces both cheeks, her arms moving to cross over her chest as she tries to hide that, too, from him.

If he didn’t sense her fear that is mixed with confusion and desire, he would’ve been amused, but something is wrong.

He can see so clearly what she is thinking and their bond only betrays her feelings that much more to him.

Kylo knows why she is panicking when he lightly brushes along her consciousness. He knows why she tries so hard to keep her arms over her chest and gaze anywhere but him. He knows that she is ashamed for dreaming of such an act of lust. For dreaming of such intimate and sinful things with the very person who had rescued her and was to be her master.

She can’t find herself to resent dreaming of him, despite that she tells herself it was shameful to dream of such a thing. Such makes the tightness of his chest slowly lessen as she tries to reason with herself, the painful feeling replaced by an overwhelming want to comfort her.

He watches as she tries to make sense of what just happened, tentatively taking steps to move closer to her until they are only inches apart.

Ren cannot stand by and allow her to fight what she now wants, and so he calls for her again, this time more demanding of her attention.

“Rey.”

Her vision does not stray from the space between their feet, her head bowed in shame as she cannot find herself to be able to look at him.

When she doesn’t move, he tries again, this time softer as he pleads for her attention,” Rey, look at me. Please, look at me.”

This time she does listen, her eye line slow to trail up his body until they finally meet his own gaze as she takes a small step away from him.

He tries to stop the small pang that hits against his chest at her act of separation from him, but he focuses on the thoughts that flit around her conflicted mind, resolved to help her through this.

“Why are you in here, Kylo? How did you happen to wake up after I dreamed of-“

She is silenced as he watches her put the pieces together, her eyes narrowing when the realization sets in.

“Did you see my dream? Did you?” She accused.

Holding his hands out and taking a step forward he calmly told her,” Rey, you know I have no control over what-“

He stops to jump out of the way of a vase she has thrown, the glass cracking on the floor as he does a serious of evasive movements as she continuously throws whatever is in her reach, her cheeks now burning at the knowledge that he had seen her lewd dream.

He tells her to stop, but she does not listen, her embarrassment and anger with herself now so prominent in the bond that he knows he cannot reason with her.

“Stop, Rey!”

Extending an arm out, he summons the Force, effectively freezing her in place as he takes a moment to release a heavy breath while crossing over to the girl.

“Yes, I saw your dream. I felt your panic as clearly as if it were my own because of our bond, Rey. You know this, deep down, in that conflicted heart of yours.”

The girl is silent for a moment, her ragged breaths echoing throughout the room as she tries, unsuccessfully, to calm herself.

Ren allows her to speak as he wipes at the solitary tear that had been frozen in time, the shakiness of her breath betraying her as he releases his hold on her.

”You shouldn’t have seen that…you shouldn’t have seen it!” She cries out, wrapping her arms tighter around herself as if that will stop the embarrassment from further spreading through her.

She is so upset now that he, not for the first time in his life, doesn’t know what to do, despite his resolve to help her.

He watches her brows move inward as she sets her lips in a tighter line, the tears steadily streaming down her face.

Compassion floods him at the sight, for he cannot allow her to feel this way. This is not what he wants for her.

Considering the girl, he wonders if admitting to her that he too had dreamt of such sinful scenes with her in his dreams would help put her at ease. She had always been one to grow more comfortable with admitting things if others told her of how they’d done or been part of the same thing, he realizes.

Deciding to tell her, he wipes at another tear as he warmly whispers,” Rey, you’re not alone. Remember when I told you that?”

She nods, fearful that speaking will betray her further.

He continues, warmth in his gaze as he places a hand against her cheek,” I’ve dreamt of you, too, little one. I’ve dreamt of doing things to you. Things far more…detailed than what I saw tonight.”

Her eyes widen, surprise in her tone as her brows lift, “You… You did?”

It is his turn to nod as she slowly loosens her grip on herself, her eyes moving to the floor and then back to his as she quirks her head at him.

She has never dreamt of a man in the way she has Kylo. She doesn’t know if it’s the bond or newfound feelings for him that make her want to know, but she wonders if there has been anyone else. If Kylo has been with any other woman before her.

The possessive side of her suddenly takes over as she questions him.

He senses her nervousness before she speaks,” Did you ever… Were you ever with anyone else?”

A dark expression soon falls over his face at that, his eyes moving downwards as his head dips to stare at something below them, “There was one, but please believe me when I say it wasn’t anything like you may think.”

The girl watches him, his pain and remorse falling through the bond as she tries to stop the sharp pain that knifes through her chest at his admission.

Still, she is caught in how crestfallen he has become at her question, the girl soon filled with a want to comfort him and burn these negative feelings away as she listens.

He continues, “When I was younger, my master saw the potential for my bloodline. He wanted something only I could give him, Rey.”

The girl doesn’t need him to elaborate to know what he is trying to say, her heart swelling at the premise of him having to participate in something to procure children.

The girl follows the invisible cord he has left open to their bond, his emotions falling so freely from it.

“She was a courtesan that I was sent to on Coruscant when I was 23. My master gave me an order to lay with her, which I resisted, but something very precious to me was to be killed if I didn’t, so I obeyed…”

He trails off as the girl feels his regret and sorrow so powerfully from the bond that she has to wipe a tear from her own face, her hand moving on it’s own to take hold of his arm and giving a gentle squeeze of reassurance.

Rey sees the burning hatred and loathing he has for himself because of the shameful act he’d committed. She sees his will take a blow as the specter of his past transgression unrelentingly strikes him once more, and she cannot find herself to be anything but compassionate for this man that slowly falls to his knees before her in shame.

“I never wanted to, Rey….I never wanted to…” He repeated as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed his face into her stomach.

Again, Rey sees a vulnerable man that without a doubt regrets his past transgression, and she is all the more encouraged by the need to comfort him as she moves a hand to the soft tendrils of black hair to stroke him as he continues to repeat himself.

Rey cannot hold this against him. He’d been enslaved by someone who derived pleasure from his pain, and if anyone understood that, it was Rey of Jakku. Rey, who had been sold to a Toydarian to fulfill his wishes and Unkar Plutt to do his bidding.

She too falls to her knees as he pulls her down, gingerly taking his left hand and laying her palm on his right cheek to lift it as she cooed,” I know, Kylo… its alright. You’re going to be alright.”

His tender gaze returns to her at that, his other hand moving to lay over her left cheek as he softly confesses,” I wish you had been the only one to touch me, Rey. It’s only ever been you.”

Her lips turn up at that and he can sense her satisfaction at the sincerity of his admission through his tone and their bond as she leans in to him.

“I know. You’re not alone anymore, Kylo Ren.” She reassures as she rests her forehead against his.

Blinking, he’s not prepared for when she closes the distance between them, her soft lips fitting perfectly against his as he watches her eyes close.

Instantly his sorrows and pain melt away. The kiss is unhurried and gentle, consoling in a way that words could never be. One of her hands moves to lay over his bared chest, his heart pounding against it as their breaths blend together. He pulls her closer as their lips press more tightly against each other, relishing in how she can so easily soothe him as she sinks into him.

He could kiss her for an eternity and never tire of it, he thinks as she pulls away and opens her eyes to give him a sheepish smile.

Lifting a hand to caress her cheek, he warmly intones,” Neither are you.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Bites fingernails as she nervously waits* 
> 
> Well what did you all think??? This is a dark reylo work, but it took me a while to get to a point where I felt like a chapter with smut would work with their chemistry/feelings for each other.
> 
> Let me know what you guys think, as I'm anxious to hear what you guys took from this chapter! :D
> 
> You can find me @reyloworld on Tumblr if you'd like to chat with me about this piece, as I do enjoy conversing with you guys about it!

**Author's Note:**

> Well, what did you guys think? XD Looks to me like Ren is starting to realize this isn't just something in his head, anymore. The same goes for Rey. I tried to really nail the chemistry with them and initiate their feelings in this chapter, so I hope I did them justice. 
> 
> SPOILER: There MAY OR MAY NOT be some smut next chapter. It depends on what direction I go. And no, Rey is most certainly not going to give herself to Kylo just like that. Our dark prince is going to have to work for it! 
> 
> Comments and kudos are like portions to a desert scavenger. If you guys have ANY questions or just want to talk with me about the fic, please feel free to message me at reyloworld over on Tumblr! 
> 
> I am always happy to interact with you guys !!


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